


It's Venomous

by ShadowSnowdapple



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Did some research on scorpians lol, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Injury Recovery, Major Character Injury, Oscar the sassmaster, Paralysis, Poisoning, Post-Volume 7 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 25,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23688853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowSnowdapple/pseuds/ShadowSnowdapple
Summary: There's someone else out in the snow of Solitas...
Relationships: Ozpin & Oscar Pine
Comments: 119
Kudos: 370





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing this for a while but hadn't started to post it because I was so inconsistent with working on it, but here we are!

It all happened way too fast. The cold of Solitas was enough of a distraction without the arcing darkness inched its way into the morning sky. Oscar couldn’t help but stare at it as it slowly overtook the sky as it was turning from an early morning red to a gray-blue, only to be covered by the darkness and specks of black.

“That can’t be good,” Oscar muttered, his breath escaping in thick wisps of fog into the cold air.

_ No, _ Oz’s voice sounded almost like a sigh. 

Oscar glanced at the approaching darkness, back up at Atlas and then to Mantle.

“Where should we even go?” Oscar frowned, “there is no way evacuations will continue with  _ that  _ in plain view.”

_ Not likely,  _ Oz agreed,  _ I suppose we could try to help protect the remaining people in Mantle, for the time being, I would be surprised if there was enough time to get everyone out. _

Oscar nodded, continuing to crunch the snow under his boots with every step. “You think that may open up a possibility for us to get back up to Atlas? Winter has to be getting there soon.”

_ I am not sure _ , Oz admitted,  _ But as you said, there probably is not going to be a continuing evacuation, and with only the two of us and only one pair of hands- I do not think that another airship heist will go as well as last time. _

“It  _ didn’t  _ go well last time,” Oscar pointed out.

_ Exactly.  _

Oscar rolled his eyes but bit back a snort. 

_ I think it would be wisest to keep your head down,  _ Ozpin said,  _ James may assume that you are dead but there is not the promise of him broadcasting that information. He may see it as a worthwhile bluff to Salem for her to assume that you or well- I- am around. _

“Yeah,” Oscar murmured, “do you think the others will hear?”

_ No word from you may cause concern. Especially with your aura down,  _ Oz said, trying to work through the thought,  _ maybe a message may be helpful? Although it may be tracked. _

“Worth an attempt, I guess,” Oscar sighed, fishing around in his pockets for his scroll. Oscar frowned, the usual pocket was empty. Oscar turned out his other pockets. Nothing. “I think it fell out.”

_ There’s no telling where it landed,  _ Ozpin sounded slightly frustrated, probably at the idea of looking for it.

“It’s probably busted anyway,” Oscar replied, “it’s durable but a fall from that height would destroy just about anything.”

_ You are probably correct. At least we do not need to worry about being tracked.  _ Oz seemed to be doing his best to stay on the bright side.

Oscar walked through the snow with arms close to his chest. It was blistering cold already and without his aura to keep him warm, Oscar was already shivering.

_ Just move quickly  _ Oz insisted, trying to keep Oscar focused on something else,  _ as soon as we get to Mantle we can figure out how to get some warmer clothes and work from here. _

“Sounds like a good plan,” Oscar whispered, his breath fogging in the cold morning air.

The plains of snow on the way to Mantle were consistent in their pure white slopes, but as Oscar walked, he noticed a dark spec. A house? Maybe Oscar could ask if they had any spare warm clothes? Oscar didn’t like to ask for favors but with the cold biting him, Oscar would do about anything for some extra warmth.

As he got closer, the spec looked less and less like a house. It was a crashed airship. Oscar looked around the rubble. It was half-stuck in the ground but by the way the ash was visible and the way that metal sheets stuck into the snow, this was recent.

Oscar glanced around, looking for signs of anyone needing any help. This had to be less than an hour or so old, if someone was stranded like him he should-

Oscar froze as he stepped out of the wreckage. Not twenty feet from the crash was red-soaked snow. A dark spatter, some drops and then a deep crimson pool. An indent of where a body would be, but tracks around it made it obvious that it was recovered.

“They…” Oscar whispered, “they weren’t bleeding from the crash.”

_ No _ , Oz sounded on edge,  _ this looks like a bloody fight. _

Oscar pulled his hands into tight fists, trying to hold back the shaking. Someone had died. No one could lose that much blood and still be alive. Oscar knew that. 

Oscar wondered who they were. Who had killed them? Everyone he knew was in Atlas when he had left except… Qrow. Oscar’s body trembled at the thought. Qrow had recovered Tyrian with Robyn and Clover and were flying back. No other word. This was the only blood splatter so it couldn’t have been an evacuation flight.

Was… was Qrow  _ dead? _

_ Oscar,  _ Oz’s voice was pressing but gentle,  _ Do not jump to conclusions. I see your worry, but whatever happened here happened. We can not do anything to change it. We will hear if Qrow is alright when we can. Until then, we need to focus on getting to Mantle. _

Oscar tried to shake the worry from his head but it was persistent. If the airship had crashed and there was only this bloodstain. Maybe it was Tyrian. That would make the most sense seeing as there was no other blood. Unless someone was killed and Tyrian got away in the shock.

_ Oscar _ . Oz pushed again. Oscar forced himself to snap out of it.

“I know, I know,” Oscar murmured, scuffing the snow, “we have to keep moving.”

Oscar felt numb pulling himself away from the wreck. It only brought worry and no answers. Another factor in the situation. Someone was dead. Oscar didn’t like that though. Back when Ozpin first appeared, Oscar had a repetitive nightmare of Ozpin’s death. The memory of burning and the smell of cooking flesh and burning hair would be left in Oscar’s mind morning after morning.

Dying… really hurt.

It was a dumb thing to admit because it seemed obvious but from someone who could, at will, pull up a memory of about any way to die- it was saying something.

Mantle grew closer and closer. The empty snow started to show more signs of traffic, long-buried streets, and abandoned shacks.

The hair on Oscar’s neck prickled.

“I feel… like I’m being watched,” Oscar whispered, gripping Long Memory on his back.

_ I would listen to your instincts _ , Oz advised,  _ you don’t have any aura so caution is our best bet. _

“Thanks for the update, Ada,” Oscar rolled his eyes.

There was a pause  _ I see what you did there. _

“Only took you thirty seconds,” Oscar teased.

Oscar suddenly tensed as something’s moved in the corner of his view. Oscar turned quickly, raising Long Memory in front of him, reading himself.

All noise was muted by the snow. Oscar could hear his ears ringing in the silence. His hand shook, holding the cane tightly.

“Oh, you’re too perceptive for a little wizard.”

A sing-song voice rang out. Stepping out from behind one of the abandoned shacks was a scrawny man with long black hair pulled back in a slick braid. Oscar's heart jumped into his throat.

_ Tyrian Callows. _

"Then that means-" Oscar breathed. It  _ was _ the ship Qrow was on. And someone was dead. And it  _ wasn't _ Tyrian.

Oscar took a step back.

"Oh, you know of me?" He said in a sickly sweet voice, "Because I've heard about you! Emerald and Hazel were just _so_ _happy_ to tell me about your meeting in Haven." Tyrian walked forward without a care in the world, his metal-covered stinger waving behind him like a cat. "My fair goddess has told me quite a bit as well. Is it true that you have lived and died throughout Remnant's entire history? Fascinating! Although, I can't quite understand why you would _abandon_ my fair lady like you did!"

Oscar continued to step backward, slowly, gripping his cane, pointing it towards Tyrian with his trembling hand. "She- she wants to destroy everything," Oscar managed to spit out, "There's nothing you can gain but ruin by following her! Just go!"

Tyrian laughed. A sound that made every hair on Oscar's body stand on end as it echoed in the cold air, muffled by the snow. "Oh! You're serious, little wizard? How amusing! I didn't think an old man like you would be so foolish, but then again, my lady said your hosts are  _ quite spirited _ . It's always a  _ shame _ to hear that so many lose their will to continue on your doomed quest, but it  _ has _ only been a year since your last form, well..." Tyrian held out his palm and blew on it before his laughter started up again.

Oscar fought to keep his knees from shaking. His mind going in a million places at once. Oscar could sense Oz holding back the memories of The Fall, straining to keep the loud cascade of doom that was buried in centuries of memories from overtaking Oscar. Even so, Oscar's own thoughts were battling for his nerves. The crash site. Qrow. Clover. Robyn. Who had died? Tyrian had killed one of them out in the snow where they bled out. And here Oscar was. A fourteen-year-old without a lick of aura to protect himself. Granted, his chances should be better, not every aura-drained fourteen-year-old has a gajillion-year-old ghost in their brain to tell them how to fight but he was also facing off against a serial killer who had at least  _ some _ aura, somehow bested three trained huntsmen, and killed one of them. So the odds did not look very good.

Oscar straightened his stance. No. Now was not the time to be afraid. Right now there was only this. Nothing else. Atlas might as well be on the other side of Remnant right now. Focus on staying alive here and now.

"Oh, still willing to fight me then?" Tyrian said, much too gleefully for Oscar's comfort. "Well if you  _ insist!" _

Oscar braced himself as Tyrian sprung, diving through the air with calculated precision for a mad man. Oscar kicked off of the snowy ground, the snow crunching under his feet as Oscar ducked under Tyrian's spring and whirling around without a second to spare to block the silver stinger. Oscar strained as Tyrian just  _ smiled _ . Tyrian kicked off of Long Memory, landing clean on the cold ground and took another running lunge at Oscar. Oscar tried his best to move with the hits, knowing that he was already weary from the fight with Neapolitan, his muscles wouldn't hold out if he kept blocking the Faunus head-on.

Tyrian spun again and Oscar held out the cane again to block, the sharp hit batting his arm upwards. Seeing the opening Oscar dug his foot into the ground and kicked off, barely missing a swipe from Tyrian's stinger.

Oscar breathed heavily. His body was already worn down. He knew he couldn't keep this up. Oscar wasn't getting anywhere on the defensive like this. But without any Aura, he didn't have any choice. A single clean hit would knock him down.

_ But at this rate,  _ Oscar thought coldly,  _ He doesn't need to get a clean hit, just wait for me to ware myself down. _

"Oh, tired already, little wizard?" Tyrian taunted, not looking fazed, "The more I see you fight, the more I think you're just that snot-nosed brat who the shell belonged to first."

Oscar grit his teeth.

_ Oscar, you and I both know it's not like that,  _ Oz's voice said calmly,  _ He's just trying to get a rise out of you. _

Oscar spun Long Memory in his hand once, readjusting his grip and holding it steady. "Doesn't matter," Oscar replied in a level tone.

Tyrian rushed forward again. Having caught his breath, Oscar blocked with new vigor, trying to look for openings. Oscar rolled with another strike, freeing the cane for a wide arc.

_ Crack! _

A solid smack to Tyrian's jaw. Oscar took that solid hit for what it was, determined not to get greedy and fell back, going on the defensive again.

Tyrian just... giggled. "Not bad,  _ little boy _ ."

Oscar shivered. This guy was freaking him out.

The Faunus coiled himself again to strike. Oscar stumbled as he batted back another hit. It was harder this time. Was Tyrian getting stronger or was he just getting weaker?

_ Oscar, we need to get out of here _ , Oz's voice said, stress bleeding out of it.

"Easier said than done," Oscar grunted, fending off a low strike, pushing down Tyrian's stinger and springing over it, skidding to a halt, spraying snow behind him. Oscar saw how quick Tyrian was, turning around to running would just leave him exposed. Oscar dug in his heels as Tyrian whirled around, darting forward once again. Oscar tossed Long Memory to his other hand, switching his stance. His one shoulder was already sore from blocking, it wouldn't hold up. He took a deep breath.

Oscar ducked under one strike, jabbing the cane forward like a spear, shoving Tyrian back by his stomach. Tyrian curled into the hit, grabbing Long Memory and pushing Oscar off balance with the change in weight. Tyrian hit the ground, still holding Long Memory in a vice grip and kicked up at Oscar, who's body had fallen forward with the momentum. It was a strong, solid kick and Oscar lost his grip on the cane, his breath knocked out of him as his body sailed into the air. Oscar tried to turn, to control his fall but as soon as his body tensed to move something hit him.

A sharp piercing pain just above his hip on his right side.

Oscar had cut himself before, but nothing was like the burning sensation that made his fingers and toes turn numb. Within a blink of an eye, Oscar's lungs felt like they were full of glass and he landed roughly on the ground, hot pain pulsing from his side. Oscar struggled to breathe but clawed at the snow, trying to pull himself away.

Tyrian  _ cackled _ , twirling Long Memory in his hand, "Oh, what a good try, little boy! But unlike with the little birdie before no one cut off my tail! I'm sure you're having trouble moving, aren't you?"

Oscar tried to ignore him, grabbing fistfuls of snow and trying to pull himself away furiously. Tyrian was right, his legs wouldn't move, but Oscar refused to give up, pulling his body inch by inch away- not caring how obviously  _ useless  _ it was. The snow crunched behind him and Oscar felt a tug on his collar, his body lifted like a rag doll. Oscar tried to claw at Tyrian, but his body throbbed.

"I'm sure my lady would be  _ thrilled _ to see you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar deals with Tyrian

Just Tyrian  _ touching _ him made Oscar feel slimy. It wasn't like they had come across each other before but Oscar had seen the feed from Penny at Robyn's rally. He had seen the files passed around from the search after that. He had heard about RNJR's encounter with him and their subsequent issues with Qrow.

"He's just... creepy," Ruby had said, "Like... extra creepy."

"Slimy," Nora added and then shuttered.

"Let's hope we can find him in Mantle so none of us has to deal with him after that," Jaune said, folding his arms, "You'll be safe up here in Atlas, Oscar. So don't worry too much about him."

Oscar shook his head, "I'm more worried about you guys!"

"Oh!" Yang gasped, ruffling his hair, "We're all  _ super strong _ , squirt, no need to stress!"

Oscar puffed his cheeks, "I'm going to! He hurt Qrow! What if he hurts all of you?"

Ren smiled gently, "It's nice of you to worry about us, but it'll be okay. We'll be careful and do our best to stay safe. We'll protect each other." __

Oscar let out a breath and nodded. "Okay, I'll trust that you will. But you  _ have  _ to be careful!"

"We will! Absolutely!" Ruby chimed brightly.

Somewhere in Oscar's head, he had hoped that his friends wouldn't have to fight that mad man again. When Oscar heard that Qrow, Robyn, and Clover were going after him, Oscar felt much better. Qrow was one of the strongest people Oscar knew, and Oscar had seen Clover fight and couldn't help but to be impressed. He hadn't seen much of Robyn himself, but he heard of her reputation prior to the election buzzing around online in Atlas. They seemed like the most capable and practical group to take care of someone like Tyrian.

And yet, here Oscar was.

His arms almost felt as numb as his legs as he was draped over Tyrian's shoulder, staring at the ground as it changed from snow to slush to rugged roads. Oscar's nose stung with the cold and it hurt to breathe, especially with his chest over Tyrian's bony shoulder. The man was just... humming. Like he was going for a jaunty stroll and not walking into a war zone that smelled like burnt buildings and discharged dust carrying a child he had just poisoned.

_ Technically it's envenomed _ , Oz pointed out.

"I will pay you to shut up," Oscar croaked.

Tyrian giggled, "I do hope that you aren't talking to me."

"Oh no, carry on," Oscar hissed, "I entirely understand that you don't want my money."

_ Oscar, you do understand that any money you already own is also mine? _

"Oz just doesn't appreciate my sense of humor," Oscar grumbled.

Tyrian let out a hum of thought, "A shame really."

"See Oz, Tyrian likes my jokes," Oscar reported in a tired voice.

_ Oscar, are you compromised from the venom? _

"I'm just cynical."

Tyrian snickered. "You  _ are _ quite an amusing little boy."

Oscar rolled his eyes, trying to go back to trying to stifle the hot burning pain in his side and the stiffness in his lungs that made it hurt to breathe. He watched the ground pass him by until Tyrian made a stop. There was a pause before Tyrian shifted and there was a loud  _ CRACK _ sound.

_ Ah _ , Oscar thought,  _ He kicked down a door. _

From what Oscar could see from his paralyzed position, it looked to be an abandoned small house just outside of Mantle. Tyrian dumped Oscar on a dusty old couch and stretched.

"For a little boy, you're quite heavy," Tyrian commented, cracking his back.

Oscar huffed, "Surprising how much souls weigh."

Tyrian looked unamused this time. “You’re just getting snide now, aren’t you?”

“I literally can not move, the best I can do is sharp quips.”

Tyrian sneered but the expression melted off his face. “Oh, I can’t stay upset! I can just  _ imagine  _ how happy My Lady will be when she hears the news! I did what Cinder could not! I captured that old scoundrel!”

“You stabbed a fourteen-year-old,” Oscar muttered.

Tyrian shot him a dirty look. “I’m not asking for  _ your  _ opinion, little boy. Be quiet for a bit, I just  _ must  _ contact her. Oh, how  _ pleased  _ she will be with me!” Tyrian dug through his pockets to find a collapsed scroll hidden in an inside pocket and fiddling with it as he hummed happily.

Oscar glowered at him even though his vision was half-obscured by the dirty couch. Oscar couldn’t understand how this guy ticked, but Oscar also felt like the moment he did was the moment he should worry about his own sanity.

“Hazel!” Tyrian chirped into his scroll, “Oh can you do me a very important favor? I have the  _ best  _ news for our lady! I’m sure you’ll also be  _ thrilled  _ to hear it! Get this! I  _ captured  _ Ozpin! Yes! Me! That weak shell of his is paralyzed! Tell her! She’ll be so happy!”

Oscar bit back a groan. Tyrian’s giddy voice talking about him made him feel ill. 

_ He really is slimy, Nora was right on the nose with that one. _ Oscar thought, letting out a raspy cough that made his prickly lungs burn.

Oscar almost tried to tune him out, but... any information would be for the best.

"Oh, would you? I am rather... held up here," Tyrian said, pacing in circles while his tail waved behind him. "I haven't heard a word for Arthur yet, I heard from Qrow and his little lackeys that he was taken in by Ironwood but that's just left me up the creek without a paddle so any assistance would be  _ most _ appreciated! See you~"

He tapped his scroll and returned to humming, picking up the door that was knocked off its hinges and placing it against the wall. Tyrian looked  _ much  _ too satisfied with himself.

Oscar tried to shift himself so he wasn’t laying with his face pressed against the dirty couch but trying to shift his chest just made him cough more. 

Tyrian glanced back at him. “Oh don’t worry too much about it, little boy.” Tyrian leaned down so his face floated right in front of Oscar’s. “My lady would be devastated if you died without getting to speak to you! You have a few days before you should actually be concerned.”

_ Wonderful,  _ Oscar thought snidely. 

Tyrian just grinned and kept along with… whatever he was doing. He was switching rapidly between pacing and humming… by the sound of his footsteps, Oscar thought he may even be skipping a bit.

_ He is rather… disturbing. _ Ozpin remarked.

“Yep,” Oscar whispered back.

Oscar wondered if his numb limbs were just as cold as his face. His nose and ears kept stinging from the cold but everything else was a buzzing numbness. He really didn’t want to get frostbite while laying here paralyzed. That would be one of the most embarrassing ways to lose appendages.

_ For better or for worse _ , Ozpin muttered,  _ It sounds like Hazel is on his way. _

“Worse,” Oscar said before stifling back another cough.

It felt like much too long and not long enough when a voice spoke up.

“Well, I see you made an entrance.”

That wasn’t Hazel’s voice that was… Emerald? The… illusion girl who was really close to Cinder.

_ That’s not concerning _ Ozpin said sarcastically.

“Oh shut up,” Oscar said quietly as Tyrian let out a happy gasp.

“Oh, you’re here! You have quite the  _ party!” _ Tyrian chimed.

Walking into view was- indeed- Emerald followed by Hazel and that boy… Mercury, Oscar remembered.

“Wow, you actually got him,” Mercury commented, “I would say good job but you really just beat up a scrappy kid.”

Hazel huffed, glaring down at Oscar, “I can assure you, he’s much more dangerous than that. That young face is just a ploy.”

Oscar coughed again, “Gotta say, he beat me up when I didn’t have any aura. Not a fair fight in my opinion.”

Emerald rolled her eyes, “oh can it, old man.”

“I don’t believe that is that old wizard,” Tyrian said, poking his head next to Emerald who cringed away from him. “I’m certain I have only heard from the little boy today, he  _ was  _ talking to the wizard before, apparently, the old wizard doesn’t like jokes.”

Oscar tried to clear his throat from another cough, “I think he doesn’t like my snark.”

Emerald groaned and turned to Hazel, “Why did you drag me along? I don’t wanna be a babysitter. Plus, look at him- he obviously can’t move.”

“Her Grace didn’t want any surprises from him, and I don’t blame her,” Hazel said darkly, continuing to glare at Oscar, “I apologize for your plight, boy, but evil rests inside you.”

Oscar coughed, it was starting to make his chest rattle- not a good sign, “I’ve had the dead guy problem for close to a year now, I’m aware.”

_ Not going to comment on the evil part?  _

“I might have said it didn’t matter but I’m still mad,” Oscar responded before glancing back at Hazel, “He  _ is  _ kinda an ass.”

_ I would comment on your fowl language but I feel that it was warranted. I will give you a pass. _

Mercury snorted. “You’re a strange kid.”

“I’m a sleep-deprived and poisoned fourteen-year-old, what do you want from me? Sage advice? A rigorous speech? Sorry, I really only have the brain for snide comments and quips,” Oscar responded.

Mercury looked fairly amused. Emerald groaned. Hazel kept that same stoic expression on his face. All while Tyrian was grinning from cheek to cheek, still looking very unsettling.

"Let's just get out of here," Emerald complained, "That's the kid, we shouldn't stay here and wait for someone to come after him."

"I agree," Hazel said. Oscar tried to flinch back as Hazel reached for him, but his body still wouldn't move- only responding with triggering a coughing fit. "Let's get out of here."

They walked outside to find a small airship landed not far away. Oscar felt a dull ache in his stomach as it took off, watching Mantle grow small from where he could see.


	3. Chapter 3

Oscar watched the sky around the outside of the airship turn from its early morning blue-gray to an inky black from his position over Hazel’s shoulder. 

Like with Tyrian earlier, Hazel’s shoulder pressed uncomfortably on Oscar’s chest, causing him to periodically cough. His arms and legs were starting to get more feeling in them, but they could barely move, but the stabbing feeling in his lungs didn’t change. The wound on his lower back went numb for a while there but it was starting to return with the same burning fire it had when it had been inflicted.

Oscar coughed again, feeling his chest rattle with the pressure.

“Are you sure he’s not dying, Tyrian?” Emerald asked at one point when a particularly bad fit had him for a while.

Mercury hummed and piped up from where he was at the helm, “he is… small.”

“He’s _fine_ ,” Tyrian spat, “I wouldn’t make such a miscalculation on something so important.“

Hazel didn’t comment. Oscar figured it was because Hazel wanted Ozpin dead as soon as possible.

Eventually, the ship landed.

Oscar was exhausted, to say the least. He was getting past his stubborn second wind and the adrenaline and now he just felt crummy and in pain.

Hazel hopped out of the airship onto whatever they were standing on, Oscar couldn’t get a good look. The jarring movement knocked the air out of Oscar and set off another coughing fit that rattled his chest. His arms must have regained some movement because he reflexively moved to cover his mouth.

“Arms are back,” Mercury reported loudly.

Oscar rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to quip back but another bout of coughing kept him from speaking.

Emerald groaned, “Babies, scared of some kid.” She marched forward pulling a pair of gravity cuffs from her belt and yanked Oscar’s hands together as she glared at him, “Just don’t try anything, pipsqueak.”

Oscar pointedly lifted his head and glanced at Hazel and then back at Emerald with a raised eyebrow. 

“Don’t do anything stupid or you’ll be even shorter,” she growled, locking the cuffs in place and then stomping off, probably happy to be done with him.

Oscar coughed again, “Aren’t you going to like… take me to Salem or whatever? I’ve been awake for 24 hours now and I’ve also been stabbed, I feel about ready to pass out.”

“I don’t think Her Grace would be happy with that,” Tyrian whispered.

Hazel huffed and started walking, Oscar only seeing the exit and Mercury trailing behind them. “I’m not dilly-dallying, just, being cautious.”

“I’m quite certain you have the least dangerous prisoner ever,” Mercury huffed, “I know the kid’s been joking about it, but I’m certain that even if he could get up and walk around, he’d probably just drop.”

“I feel like that, yep,” Oscar said, confining himself to resting his chin on Hazel’s shoulder, “way past my bedtime.”

“Okay, you’re not _that_ young,” Mercury frowned.

Oscar shot a dull expression his way, “Did you miss the part where I said I’ve been awake for 24 hours? I think that’s past the bedtime of adults.”

“Sleep is very important,” Hazel muttered.

Mercury just flashed Oscar an incredulous expression. Oscar made a minuscule shrug.

The walls around them looked… quite a bit like veins and it made Oscar’s skin crawl. At least Tyrian wasn’t touching him. That would have been two slimy things at once and Oscar was low on tolerance.

Suddenly, they stopped. For all of Oscar’s jokes and attempts at bravado, his heart dropped to his stomach. His body tensed and a sickening feeling of dread threatened to take over him.

_I’ll protect you,_ Oz’s voice whispered, _whatever happens- I will do my best. If you even wanted to try to confine yourself inside and not see any of this- I could just… come get you when it’s safe._

Oscar shook his head, he didn’t feel like he could talk, if his voice shook he might break down.

_I’ll be ready to take over whenever you need_ Ozpin said in a gentle tone. _While you have been saddled with this, you are not required to stay with this situation. Just know- I will keep that option open._

**Knock knock**

The door opened with loud creaking sounds. Oscar couldn’t see it, but he felt the airflow change and the groan of the hinges was unmistakable.

“You’ve returned,” a calm voice said. Even to Oscar, that voice was unmistakable. Between Jinn and the hazy dreams that visited him, he could tell it was Salem. 

Oscar felt his heart pounding in his head, it felt like his entire body thrummed with each pound. Oscar fought to keep his breathing steady as Hazel moved forward, the threshold of the door moving into view before Mercury shut it behind them.

Hazel grabbed Oscar by the collar from his shoulder, lifted him up and set him down on a chair. Oscar fought to keep his balance with his body barely regaining feeling, but Hazel gripped his shoulders, holding him up while also keeping him in place.

Oscar recovered from the sudden change and finally glanced up. The entire room looked like it was covered in veins- the walls looked like flesh. Before him was a long table and at the other end on a gilded seat like a throne- was Salem. Her face and hair bone white, sclera inky black, blood-red eyes almost glowed against their depths. Dark veins climbed up her cheeks.

She sat casually on her seat, legs crossed, hand resting on her cheek. 

“I knew Emerald wasn’t making it up when she showed me the face of a _child_ was your new form but it’s somehow still surprising to see you like this, Ozpin,” Salem said, a small smile on her lips as she spoke.

Oscar sucked in a long breath and slowly let it out, “I’m not _Ozpin_.”

“Oh I’m quite sure,” Salem said in a facetious tone, “What name would you prefer now? Osmond? Or perhaps Osiris? Or maybe I should just go back to calling you Ozma.”

_“Oscar,”_ he replied, “My name is Oscar.”

Salem was silent for a second before a chuckle that turned into a small laugh sprung from her mouth. “Sure, I’ll humor you for a while, _Oscar.”_ Slowly, she rose out of her chair and walked over, standing in front of him, looking down on him like he was a cat who just dragged in the third dead rat this week.

She leaned down and gripped his chin, Oscar fought not to jerk away. The dread was piling in his chest like a dam about to overflow.

“You really _have_ become a child this time,” Salem said, a tone that sounded much too _gentle_ to be right. It was so off-putting that Oscar’s skin prickled with goosebumps. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you this _young_. You must have been in quite a hurry.”

Oscar grit his teeth. 

_Oscar, you don’t have to-_

“You destroyed Beacon,” Oscar said, words leaving his lips before he could stop them, trying to suppress the aching cough in his chest, “Did you think- he would take his time?”

Salem rose an eyebrow, dropping her hand from Oscar’s chin. “Curious, you really should leave the adults to talk, child.”

“Remnant is my home too!” Oscar objected, “A-and this was _my_ body first!”

The smallest snort left Mercury. Probably, Oscar thought, because he sounded like a child insisting that they keep a toy on the playground.

Salem looked amused as well.

“If you insist, child. But this doesn’t change the facts,” she turned and begun to walk back to her chair, “We have been given an incredible opportunity, with thanks to Tyrian.” Oscar couldn’t see him, but he could imagine Tyrian looking pleased to an uncomfortable degree right now. “The ability to keep my…” She made a slightly sour face, “former partner, out of this entire ordeal from now on.”

Hazel’s hands tightened on Oscar’s shoulders. Oscar bit back a hiss of pain only for his careful repression to break and Oscar coughed again. 

“I also know how satisfying it would be to throw him back into the retches of the world at random, but there’s much more control to not do that,” Salem said, “Hazel, Mercury- take him down to the cells. Make sure our dear friend _Oscar_ is kept out of the destruction of Atlas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, but I hope you still enjoy it!


	4. Chapter 4

The most uncomfortable part of the cells? The ground was  _ warm.  _

It’s not like Oscar would have preferred them to be freezing cold, but between the way it felt much too soft to be stone along with it being  _ body temperature? _ It made Oscar uncomfortable.

It also didn’t help that the numbness of Tyrian’s sting had completely worn off, just leaving behind Oscar’s body weak, sore, and throbbing where the injury stayed. 

Even though Oscar had been left there for what seemed like over an hour, it didn’t seem to be healing it all. The venom probably kept his aura from stitching up the wound.

The coughing didn’t get any better either.

Oscar could recall the time he caught bronchitis a couple of years ago that left him in bed coughing with a sore chest for a week. It wasn’t  _ that  _ bad, more annoying than anything, but his aunt insisted he do nothing but rest lest it turn into something worse. It was boring and not helping out for a week made Oscar feel guilty. 

That was the sickest Oscar could recall being but now…

Oscar coughed into his glove, his chest rattling. He let out a groan, leaning against the warm wall. Oscar felt… gross. 

“Any bright ideas?” Oscar mumbled after he was settled again from another fit of coughing, his voice sounded raw.

_ You need medical attention. _ Oz replied.

Oscar rolled his eyes, “I know, Ada. That’s pretty obvious, but not really available right now.”

_ From how they spoke- I doubt Salem would leave us like this.  _ Oz continued, essentially ignoring Oscar’s quip.

Oscar hummed, “Tyrian  _ did _ say that I wouldn’t have to worry for a few days. Maybe they just want us to suffer a bit.”

_ It would not be out of character, _ Oz admitted darkly.

Oscar groaned, readjusting to lay on the floor, “So, we’re stuck here, medical attention is currently out, so let’s skip that point on the agenda. What would be next?”

_ Recovering aura _ , Oz responded.

Oscar shuffled, pulling off his dusty coat and balling it up and sticking it under his head, “that… that I can try to do.” He tried his best to find a position to lay in that didn’t aggravate the stab wound while simultaneously didn’t put pressure on his chest- which was a process all in itself.

Somehow, Oscar found a passable way to lay down. The walls may have felt slightly soft and warm, it may smell like ash, and Oscar may have felt a cascade of dread weighing down his chest, but somehow he started to nod off. Although, with as exhausted as Oscar was, it didn’t surprise him too much. The long day and multiple fights had worn him down. Eventually, he began to drift into a dreamless sleep at the edge of consciousness.

When Oscar woke back up- he didn’t feel too much better. His head ached. His body throbbed. His back stung. And as soon as he sat up he started coughing again.

His chest rattled and his throat was sore as he held his hand to his mouth. Eventually, Oscar was able to breathe again. His eyes were watery and stung from the fit. Oscar sighed, pulling his hand away from his mouth.

Oscar’s eyes locked on his palm. Not missing the splatters of blood in the fabric, and the metallic taste in his mouth that wasn’t just from exertion. 

Dread sunk into Oscar’s chest like claws. Along with that, he could feel a familiar echo of a feeling under it. It was cold. It was harsh. It was… panic.

Oscar could feel the thrum of it as if it were muffled under thick blankets. 

It was Oz.

“Oz?” Oscar asked out loud, his voice rasped in the humid air.

_ Good morning Oscar, how are you feeling? _ Came the calm response, but Oscar could sense the barely-contained emotions from him.

“Alive,” Oscar responded, “Are you okay?”

There was noticeable hesitation.

“Is it… that I’m sick?” Oscar asked. He wasn’t naïve, and Oscar prided himself on his attention to detail when it came to things that were important to other people. Even if the “other people” was the million-year-old wizard in his head.

Ozma died of illness- it was what started the entire mess. It wouldn’t be unfounded for Oz to be discomforted from feeling sick.

_ Oscar, it does not matter _ , Oz tried to brush it off,  _ I have had much worse. Even now, my offer stands. _

Oscar shook his head, “I’m not running away. Especially not to leave you alone with my body like… this.” Oscar gestured vaguely to himself.

_ You continue to impress me, but it does make me a bit sad to see how much you have matured in my absence. I apologize that you had to grow up too quickly. _

Oscar smiled a bit, “Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ve always been a bit of an old man.”

Oz chuckled at that.  _ I suppose you are right, you have always been the mature type.  _

“And you don’t take all the credit,” Oscar teased, coughing again, trying to keep it light as not to overtake him again. “My Aunt always loved how sensible I am.”

_ Do not be mistaken- I am still well aware of your mischievous streak. It is no wonder you get along with JNR. _

Oscar rolled his eyes but continued to smile at the ceiling. “I think stubbornness and snark is are shared traits.”

_ Without a doubt. _

Oscar shut his eyes, trying to breathe slowly even as his breaths rasped. “That being said, I think my stubbornness is not helping this whole sting thing. It feels like it hasn’t healed at all. And my aura still feels… low.”

_ I am beginning to think it is a trait of the venom, _ Oz contemplated,  _ it must either sap aura or keep it at bay.  _

Oscar hummed, trying to focus his aura in the wound, but the energy he scrounged together felt measly in comparison to the throbbing pain.

Oscar groaned, huddling close to himself. “Ada, Aura recovery was also a bust, what’s left on my agenda?”

_ This nickname you have chosen is going to no longer be funny when you end up accidentally activating someone’s Ada. _

“That is absolutely an issue for future Oscar who is not trapped in Salem’s weird flesh prison.” Oscar responded in a dull voice, “Whatcha got?”

_ Honestly? Absolutely nothing. _

“Then I’m ahead of schedule.”

Oscar tried to pass time to the best of his abilities. Oz tried to help. He had plenty of light-hearted stories stuck from all those lifetimes. And strangely, he knew a lot of brain teasers.

_ What has five fingers, but no bone, flesh or claws? _

Oscar hummed, thinking. “A doll.”

_ That’s not… incorrect. But also not what I was looking for. _

Oscar coughed but kept thinking, “Penny?”

_ This riddle is much older than Miss Polindena. Try again. _

“Uh…” Oscar cleared his throat. “Pass?”

_ You keep thinking too hard. The correct answer was: a glove. _

Oscar rolled his eyes. “Of course it was.”

“What are you speaking about?”

Oscar flinched, pulling himself from where he leaned in the corner to a more upright position. Standing there, casually as if Oscar wasn’t sitting on the floor of a jail cell, was Salem.

Oscar coughed, catching his breath. “Uh- riddles?”

Salem rose an eyebrow like she didn’t really believe it.

“Like- What has five fingers but no flesh, bone, or claws?”

Salem started at him for a moment before her expression shifted ever so slightly.

“A glove,” she answered simply.

“Darn immortals,” Oscar huffed, “knowing all the riddles.”

Salem had just the briefest expression of amusement. “I didn’t come here for riddles.”

“I didn’t think you would,” Oscar said, shifting to lean back again, coughing into his arm.

“I am, however, rather impressed to see that  _ you  _ are still here, child,” Salem said, stroking her chin, “I assumed Ozma would have insisted you take a long nap.”

Oscar shrugged, “the offer was given, but I’m okay with solving riddles with the wall in between coughing up blood.”

“That being said,” Salem said quickly, raising her voice, “I was hoping to speak to my ex-husband.”

“He’s listening,” Oscar responded.

Salem rolled her eyes, “you know what I mean, child.”

“He has been banned from the body. He’s grounded,” Oscar answered. 

_ That one _ threw her off. Oscar had only seen Salem's expressions shift slightly, never leaving an air of serenity and certainty. She looked incredulous.

"I can pass along messages but I'm not passing over control," Oscar continued, his tone leveling.

Salem let out a long sigh, there was an irritated twitch of her eyebrow. "You are certainly an interesting one, child. No matter, if I must speak to you, then I will."

Oscar grit his teeth as he tried to muffle another cough, his mouth still tasted like metal. "I don't understand you if you're still doing this to spite the Brothers. It's useless. They left thousands of years ago, do you really think they care anymore? You're just- causing pain for no reason!"

"No reason?" Salem raised an eyebrow, "Child, there is a very important reason." She leaned forward, "To destroy everything  _ you _ have built."

Oscar felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, "W-what?"

"Ozma, you betrayed me. I would have done anything for you. And if we are both stuck on this miserable, broken world for eternity then I will make that eternity  _ hell. _ Anything you build, the people you grow to love, the cities and schools you have watched over for lifetimes- I will leave them in smoldering ashes as penance for your betrayal." She glared down at him, her voice sharp like a blade, "But, you could have it all back, if only you returned to my side, Ozma." Her eyes narrowed, "I have offered this before but maybe now you see that this silly game can't be won."

Oscar felt the answer bubble in his chest. A feeling. A memory. The answer hasn't changed. Not for Oz. And definitely not for Oscar.

"No." Oscar said, gritting his teeth as he stood up, "I'm not Ozma, but I knew that he loved the world. He loved  _ you _ . You traveled and learned and loved everything all that time ago. Why would anyone want to stay with someone who destroyed everything and everyone they  _ loved _ ."

Salem stared at him, her expression not changing from the smoldering glare like hot coals. "I have given you so many chances. I will give you this one more. Think on it."

And then she turned and walked away.

As soon as she was out of sight Oscar leaned back onto the wall, letting out a long breath of relief that turned into a fit of coughing. His head throbbed.

_ That was very brave _ , Oz said simply as Oscar fought to get his breath back.

"Also stupid in the long run," Oscar rasped, rubbing his head, "Pissing her off won’t make this easier."

_ No, it won't _ , Oz agreed,  _ But your resolve is commendable. _

Oscar chuckled lightly, "Thanks."

Carefully, he closed his eyes, trying to stop the pounding in his head. The ache of sadness and loss that drifted from Oz. And the dread that hung over both of them.


	5. Chapter 5

The ceiling was not getting any more interesting as Oscar stared at it. He had long since figured out that laying flat on his back made the coughing worse, but leaning against the walls was a good substitute. The corners were the most comfortable. Oz tried to keep Oscar distracted again, but a pounding headache was creeping up on him, and Oscar wanted nothing more than the ambient light in the strange room to dim so maybe it wouldn't throb as much.

Oscar's glove and sleeve were beginning to be covered in bloodstains, and Oscar figured that if he had a mirror he might look a bit like a vampire.

Oscar considered tearing off some of the tail of his coat to use as a handkerchief so he wouldn't look too much like a wreck, but it seemed like too much work and even though Oscar had done nothing but lay around all day- he was exhausted.

_ How about- what's two small things that can fit in your pocket that can fill an entire room? _

"No," Oscar groaned, covering his eyes with his cleaner sleeve, "Leave me alone, riddle master."

_ Oscar, you're laying around in a prison all day, you can't just stare at the wall, it's not good for you. _

"I'm not staring at a wall," Oscar argued, "I'm staring at the back of my eyelids."

_ That is not so different. _

"Ada, turn off," Oscar mumbled, leaning his head into the corner.

_ I do not work like that. _

"Can you though? Please?"

_ No _ .

Oscar groaned loudly. curling his legs up close. "A candle and lighter. The room is full of light. And maybe smell."

_ You- oh that's right. _

"Now have I earned my nap, riddler?" Oscar huffed.

_ You have been trying to nap all day, but you have not been able to sleep a wink. I think it might be better for you to stay awake and monitor your condition. _

Oscar, nestled closer to his corner. “You’re not the boss of me.”

_Oscar, I am the only trustworthy adult around for at least a mile and you are an injured child._ _If there was ever a time in which I was the boss of you- it is now._

Oscar puffed his cheeks and closed his eyes.

_ Oscar, _ Oz said in a warning voice.

Oscar didn’t acknowledge him with a reply, finding the corner more and more comfortable by the moment. He was getting cold and the warmth of the wall was helping a little.

_ Oscar. _ Oz continued. Oscar tried to shut his eyes tighter as even the projected thoughts made his head ache.

_ Oscar, I am worried about your health, please.  _

“Sleepy,” Oscar shot back, “an’ cold.” As his head settled into the crook, Oscar let his body relax. He was so tired and sore…

Images flashed behind his eyes. Staring up at a wooden ceiling as darkness gathered at the edges of his vision and suddenly he couldn’t breathe- his chest felt tight and it was  _ crushing him _ **_-_ **

Oscar surged forward, coughing harshly, not having the time to cover his mouth. His eyes held shut as tears gathered in them. He tried desperately to catch his breath, hunched over on the floor, gasping for air.

_ Oscar? Oscar! Are you okay? I am  _ **_so sorry_ ** _ I didn’t mean to- _ Oz’s frantic voice rang in Oscar’s head, but it just faded to a distant roar of noise as everything grew hazy again.

Oscar inhaled sharply- finally getting a proper lung full of air. He let his arms relax form holding him up, falling onto his forearms as he greedily sucked in air.

“Please- don’t do that,” Oscar rasped, slowly opening his eyes to see the floor now also had some splatters of blood. Wonderful. Oscar sat up and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

_ I sincerely did not intend to, _ Oz replied in an apologetic tone,  _ My fears simply got away from me. I will try to keep them under better control. _

Oscar rubbed his temples, “sounds good.”

_ Tap tap. _

Oscar glanced up quickly. Who he saw standing on the other side of the cell bars was not who Oscar had thought he would see. It made sense though.

A petite girl with a black bowler hat. Long pink and brown hair and two different colored eyes. She rose an eyebrow.

“Oh, it’s you again,” Oscar grumbled, “Neapolitan, right?”

She nodded, her fingers moving on one hand as it clasped the other, Oscar barely caught it.

_ N-E-O _

Oscar paused, “Neo?”

Her expression lit up, leaning closer before flicking her finger next to her head.

_ Understand? _

“Oh, yeah,” Oscar shifted a bit so he could see her more clearly, “My Aunt taught me, her dad couldn’t hear and she always liked to use it. It comes in handy.”

Neo looked… pleased before she glanced around with a puzzled look.

_ You’re here, why? _

Oscar shrugged, “There’s an old man in my brain. He and Salem got beef.”

_ Unfortunate _ .

“Yep,” Oscar let the p pop before leaning on an arm, “Not my finest 24 hours either.”

_ Good punch. Have pride.  _ Neo tapped her cheek and smiled a bit.

Oscar chuckled, “Thanks I guess. And here I thought you were mean.”

_ Orders. And I have fun.  _ she twirled her closed parasol,  _ but- no challenge. _

“Rude,” Oscar scowled.

Neo shrugged,  _ Truth. Nothing personal. Not you. _

“What do you mean by that?” Oscar asked, hugging his legs.

_ Orders. Not personal.  _ Neo clarified,  _ you seem okay. But, I have a goal. _

“A goal?” 

_ Revenge. _ Neo responded, a much more serious expression on her face.

Oscar tried not to recoil at the change in her demeanor, letting out a few light coughs that weren't meant to hide his shock but they helped anyway.

"Revenge?" Oscar asked, "Against who? For what? Is it really worth... all of this?"

Neo nodded.  _ R-U-B-Y _ , she pointed to one side, denoting a person.  _ My friend,  _ she pointed to her other side,  _ she killed. _

Oscar felt a squeeze of sadness in his chest at that. Neo looked furious and... very sad. She was hurt and lashing out in grief.

_ A strong motivator,  _ Oz agreed,  _ Anything is worth it. _

"I see," Oscar said quietly. He couldn't imagine Ruby- the same Ruby who yelled jokes at him as she ran outdoors, the same Ruby with the insatiable sweet tooth and a pension to try to purposely annoy those who were acting too serious- would kill someone in cold blood. "I'm... sorry about your friend. They must have meant a lot to you."

Neo's eyes flashed in sorrow.  _ They were family. _

Oscar nodded. "But... Salem is going to destroy  _ everything _ . Is that... really what they would have wanted?"

Neo's softer expression hardened.  _ You don't know them. You can't understand. _

Oscar's shoulders slumped. He knew it wouldn't be that easy. Those brief moments of softness- Oscar had hoped she could be reasoned with but-

"I guess not," Oscar admitted, "I really am sorry about your friend. It's hard to lose someone you care about a lot. I at least understand that."

Neo's hard expression didn't waver, her eyes didn't waver from Oscar's. Cold and harsh.

_ Don't die. _

Oscar paused. Confused. "What?"

_ Came because you sounded like you were dying. Don't. _

That was... Oscar leaned forward, looking about as puzzled as he felt. "Uh... thanks? I'll try?"

She nodded stiffly and turned around, giving a quick wave before walking away briskly, a certain stiffness in her gait.

"That was..." Oscar murmured, clearing his throat, "Strange. Although, I think she's just sad."

_ I think you are right about that, _ Oz agreed.

Oscar shuffled back into his corner, leaning on his side where it didn't throb. "It's not going to change anything, though. We're still stuck here- and I'm not sure if I can hold up that suggestion forever. I feel pretty... awful."

_ I know _ , Oz replied like a sigh,  _ It has been almost a day and nothing has been done, I am beginning to be concerned but considering what Salem did say I do not think she would take the chance of throwing us to the masses again. _

"You say that like it's not dying," Oscar grumbled, "I would rather not."

_ I agree, completely ignoring the logistics of having to acclimate to another life- I would hate to have your life cut short. I have said it before, but you are much too young to have been pulled into all of this. If the current situation were not to have been going on, I would have waited much longer before interrupting your life as I did. _

"What's done is done," Oscar replied in a dull voice, "That's not the world we're living in. We are in the world of being stuck in a flesh prison slowly dying to a creepy man's venom."

_ You are a ray of sunshine today, _ came the sarcastic retort.

"There's so much to be hopeful about," Oscar said, "I am going to keep it real."

If Oz could roll his eyes, Oscar would imagine he would be doing that right about now.

"I'm not planning on dying though," Oscar continued, "I'm too stubborn for that. I can't say I'm not worried though."

_ What is troubling you- beyond what we have already lamented about? _

Oscar shook his head. "Nobody knows we're  _ here. _ I broke off from Jaune and the others, got shot off Atlas by Ironwood who may or may not have announced that I'm dead, my scroll is somewhere in Solitas- likely destroyed on impact- and now we're somewhere in the sky above Mantle, captured by Salem and on top of that- we're  _ poisoned _ ." Oscar let out a few more rattling coughs, "No one is coming to save us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neo uses an SL send tweet. I tried to word Neo's SL dialogue similar to how ASL (the SL I know/have been studying) is directly translated without making it too blocky. I love Neo if you haven't noticed. 
> 
> Also, I'm continuing to try to post these every other day but the chapter I'm working on is being stubborn. Just a heads up!


	6. Chapter 6

Oscar wasn’t sure what time it was but Emerald stopped by with food not too long ago. She didn’t say anything- just looked annoyed. 

If he had to guess, Oscar figured it was night time again.

His headache hadn’t gotten any better. If anything, it had gotten worse. He tried to pull his coat over his head while still keeping it on. Trying to get some of the light off of him. It was too cold now to take it off though. 

Oscar huddled up in his corner, pulling his body close. He would periodically let out weak, raspy coughs. The blood didn’t appear all the time, but it was getting on the knees of his pants now. 

There didn’t seem to be a way to get comfortable anymore. The sting only started hurting more, even leaning on his good side would disrupt it. 

“Hey Ada,” Oscar murmured, “I think I’m sick.”

_ … I think so as well, _ Oz replied solemnly,  _ I can’t think of anything helpful for this situation.  _

Oscar pressed his cheek against the wall, it didn’t even feel warm anymore. He was just… so cold. “Hey, Oz?”

_ Yes, Oscar? _

“If I die, what happens to us?” 

There was a moment of silence. Oscar could almost  _ feel  _ Oz trying to spin whatever he was going to say to give Oscar some comfort. Oscar wasn’t really sure if he could either way. It was like everything was slowly growing darker around him. It was getting difficult to fight off the negative thoughts and fear.

_ We haven’t been together long, _ Oz began, sounding hesitant,  _ And even though we have affected each other quite a bit, it isn’t as… solid. This process  _ isn’t  _ you becoming me, it’s  _ us  _ changing together until the lines blur. But we are both still so different. I fear that… I would move on without you if I am being honest. _

Oscar’s eyes traced the wall that was patterned like veins as Oz spoke. “Oh,” Oscar heard himself say.

_ Please do not lose hope now, Oscar. _ Ozpin pressed.

Oscar let his eyes close, resting against the wall, “I’m not… giving up. I just… didn’t want to fall asleep and suddenly be the one dragging someone out of their peaceful life.”

_ Oscar- _

“Don’t give me that,” Oscar grumbled, “We’re stubborn, remember? I’m not going down… this easy.” Oscar opened his eyes again, only to find them growing heavy, “slimy man will not get the last laugh.”

_ … get some rest. You will need your strength. _

Oscar chuckled, “And here you were keeping me up all day.”

_ It is night now, probably. I rescind my previous suggestion. _

Oscar smiled, letting his eyes close again, “Sounds good… set an alarm, Ada.”

There was a faint laugh.  _ Alarm set. _

“Thanks,” Oscar murmured, letting sleep finally claim him.

Despite the heavy exhaustion and the poisoning, when Oscar heard voices he woke up.

Oscar opened his eyes to the same dim black and red cell he had been in for almost 24 hours. The voices were soft whispers that trailed faintly through the hall.

Oscar let out a rattling cough as soon as he sat up a bit. His entire body throbbed and it was still so  _ cold  _ in here.

The voices cut themselves off.

Oscar pulled himself to his knees. He didn’t trust his feet right about now. Carefully, he crawled to the front of the cell, trying to look around. His head felt foggy, but Oscar ignored it. 

“Hello?” Oscar croaked.

Was it Emerald and Mercury? Even if it was, at least if they spoke up Oscar could tell them to shut up. Maybe mention the fact that Oscar felt like he might not be doing too hot.

No response.

“Hello?” Oscar tried again, raising his voice a bit more only to be hit with another coughing fit.

Oscar gasped as he caught his breath again. Feeling like choking was getting old very quickly.

“… Oscar?”

Slowly Oscar rose his head.

Was he…dreaming?

Standing there, eyes wide, mouths agape, hands reaching to cover their mouths…

Was… everybody.

Ruby, eyes shaking like she was about to cry. Yang, gripping her sister’s arm. Blake, holding Yang’s hand, covering her mouth with her free hand. Weiss, recoiling in shock a step. Ren, stiff and pale. Nora grabbing both him and Jaune. Jaune who surged forward when they locked eyes.

“Oscar?” Jaune grabbed the bars, “Oscar how did you-“ Jaune shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, we’re getting you out of there.“

Jaune took out his sword, wedging it near the door’s lock and pulling it. Nora grabbed the hilt as well, helping.

_ SNAP. _

The lock clattered to the ground, and Jaune and Nora may have been close to ripping the door off its hinges as they ran inside. 

Yang held open the door with her foot, reading herself as a guard, Blake slotting herself right next to her as a second lookout.

Everyone else practically piled onto Oscar.

“We were so worried!” Nora said, her voice sounded close to tears.

Jaune clutched Oscar close, “We saw your Aura go down and then Ironwood said-“

“We thought you were gone,” Ren finished as Jaune cut himself off.

Oscar leaned into the hug, finally feeling warm again…

“Oscar you look, awful,” Ruby said as they pulled back.

Ren pulled Oscar’s face towards him, a crease of worry on his brow, “You’ve got blood all over you.”

Oscar smiled sheepishly before letting out a few light coughs. “Oh, I’m aware.” Oscar held out his arm, showing his blood-stained glove and sleeve.

“Are you coughing up  _ blood?” _ Weiss gasped as Ren quickly grabbed a small bit of a bandage and water and started to get the blood off of Oscar’s face.

“You’re… pretty warm too,” Ren commented as he worked.

“I got… ‘envenomed’,” Oscar made air quotes with his fingers, “Apparently poisoned isn’t the correct word.”

Ruby paled, “ _ What?” _

Oscar shifted his coat, pulling up the ripped fabric to show the sting more clearly. It was hard to see with where it was, but there was definitely blood on the fabric.

“Tyrian,” Jaune growled, holding Oscar’s shoulder tightly.

“That doesn’t look good,” Nora whispered.

Oscar tried to lean back into Jaune, now that they had all pulled away, Oscar was cold again. “I’ve been trying to heal it with my aura… hasn’t worked…”

Ren started pulling things out of his pockets and bags, “I have some first aid supplies, but I don’t think it’s enough. We need to get him to a doctor.”

Jaune started trying to carefully pull Oscar off of him but Oscar clutched him.

“No, it’s  _ cold,”  _ Oscar whined.

Jaune rubbed his shoulder, “don’t worry, we’ll keep you warm.” Oscar let go and let Jaune lay him down on his chest. Oscar coughed a few times, not liking the pressure on his lungs like this, but bit back a complaint.

Jaune carefully carded his fingers through Oscar’s hair as Ren tried to clean the sting on his back as gently as possible. It still stung a lot. Nora held his hand firmly. Oscar grit his teeth and squeezed it.

Still, Oscar could feel a bit of warmth from where Jaune stroked his hair. Oscar carefully opened one eye to see the faint glow of Jaune’s semblance. It was warm.

“What are we going to do?” Oscar heard Blake say just above a whisper, “we can’t take him with us- it’s too dangerous.”

“He needs medical attention, someone needs to take him to Atlas,” Weiss responded in a hushed voice.

“How? Penny is barely holding Cinder off of our asses out there, and last time we got even a bit close to Atlas they tried to shoot us out of the sky,” Yang snapped back, voice barely contained. 

“Guys,” Nora spoke up, voice quiet but no whispering, “We can take him.”

“That still won’t get you to Atlas,” Ruby said, sounding obviously worried, “And Cinder is out there, do you think you could even get out of here with the airship?”

“We don’t need the airship,” Jaune replied in a firm voice, “Landing strategies, remember? Our first test.”

“But- then you’ll be down in Mantle,” Blake argued, the concern clear as day in her tone, “You won’t be anywhere near Atlas.”

“But we  _ will  _ be near Pietro,” Jaune replied, “He’s with Maria at his clinic, I’m sure he’s seeing a lot of patients but it’s our best bet.”

“Pietro is brilliant but- he doesn’t have a fully stocked  _ hospital _ ,” Weiss said sharply.

Ren taped down the last strip of bandages, “It’ll have to do.”

Ren and Jaune helped Oscar back up, the change in position made him cough and sputter again. Ren quickly pulled out tissues.

Oscar had teased Ren in the past for having all those little things like that, but now he was grateful. The pocket-sized flimsy packet had equally flimsy tissues but they were better than nothing. Oscar tried to ball up the used tissue and stick it in his pocket as quickly as possible, but mostly everyone caught sight of the splatters of blood.

Jaune was quick to gather Oscar into his arms and stand up. “You guys be careful,” he said, glancing back at team RWBY as they collected themselves.

“You too,” Ruby said solemnly, “send a message as soon as you’re at Pietro’s.”

“And you let us know if there’s anything we can do to help from below,” Ren responded.

“Will do,” Blake agreed, “But you three take care of Oscar.” She glanced at the boy in Jaune’s arms, her ears dipping a bit. Oscar clung to Jaune who’s hands still glowed with his semblance. Oscar’s eyes were dipped in exhaustion, and his pale pallor and the slight tremble of his body were hard to miss.

“Don’t worry,” Nora replied firmly, “First priority. Just be careful out there.”

“We will,” Yang said, a smile forming on her face, “I’ll knock Tyrian silly for you, Oscar. He’s not getting away with hurting our farm boy!“

Oscar chuckled weakly, leaning on Jaune’s shoulder, “Thanks. He’s slimy. Don’t get stung. It hurts.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Weiss promised, leaning forward to pat Oscar’s head.

“Come back safe, you got it?” Nora said sternly as RWBY turned to leave.

Ruby gave a crisp salute, “loud and clear.”

Jaime held Oscar a little bit tighter as the boy let out another raspy cough. “Come on guys. Time to try to avoid a magic fight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am now all caught up on finished chapters- I will try my best to keep bi-daily posts until the fic is done but I'm stuck :'(
> 
> BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SUPER NICE COMMENTS AND SUPPORT- I WANT TO FINISH THIS FIC FOR YOU <3


	7. Chapter 7

It was obvious that Jaune was tying to be careful while he carried Oscar. Unfortunately, there weren’t many ways to keep him steady without something brushing up against his wounded back.

Oscar curled up to Jaune’s armored chest anyway. Even the cold metal didn’t deter him as he closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of Jaune’s breathing as he jogged through Salem’s stronghold.

This whole time, Oscar wasn’t sure where exactly he was. It had to be some sort of strange airship. Or maybe even a malformed giant Grimm. It didn’t matter, Oscar shook the thoughts from his head. He kept his teeth grit through the pain of the sting being brushed as Jaune ran and trying to stave off the nausea from the jostling.

Eventually, Jaune slowed to a stop.

“I’ll need my hands for the fall, is there some way we can secure him to my back?” Jaune said as Oscar slowly opened his eyes again.

“I have some Gravity Cuffs?” Nora suggested, “grabbed them Incase we needed to leave one of Salem’s lackeys somewhere”

“Good idea,” Ren said, taking Oscar from Jaune’s arms, “you also good to hang on?”

Oscar nodded, probably not very convincing if he looked half as drowsy as he felt. Even so, the two of them helped Jaune and Oscar. Oscar did his best to keep a hold around Jaune’s neck with his arms and wrap his legs around Jaune’s torso with his legs, but on top of that, Nora and Ren ran the cuff’s cord around and under Oscar’s belt and Oscar numbly suggested they put some on his wrists to keep his arms around Jaune’s neck.

“You sure?” Ren said with a raised eyebrow.

“I’d rather be uncomfortable than dead,” Oscar mumbled before coughing again.

Nora shrugged, “not going to argue with that.”

Jaune turned around and jostled himself experimentally, “You good?”

“Mm,” Oscar hummed in confirmation.

“If I wasn’t worried sick I’d say I have a pretty good space heater on my back,” Jaune tried for a smile.

Oscar chuckled a bit, “Wish I had one, ‘m cold.”

Nora reached up and ruffled his hair, “Once we get to Pietro’s, I’ll get you every blanket in Mantle.”

“That’s  _ a lot _ of blankets,” Oscar said with a sleepy yet coy smile.

Ren chuckled, “well at least we know we have the right farm boy.”

“Salem doesn’t have the patience for my wonderful brand of humor,” Oscar mumbled, pressing his cheek to the back of Jaune’s neck, “No replication possible.”

“Alright sass master,” Jaune said, shifting him once more for good measure, “We have a whale to jump off of.”

…

“A what?”

“You’ve been in the belly of a whale this whole time and you didn’t know?” Nora said with a raised eyebrow.

“No one tells me these things!” Oscar exclaimed before almost choking Jaune by reflexively pulling his hands back to cough. At the first tug, Oscar remembered and managed to quickly move his head to the side and not get blood on Jaune’s neck.

Jaune carefully looked behind him, “You okay?”

“It’s the venom thing,” Oscar remarked as soon as he could, “Ignore me. I’ll tell you if I’m dying.”

Ren sighed loudly, beginning to move forward again, “please don’t joke about that.”

“No promises,” Oscar mumbled.

Nora let out a long, over-exaggerated sigh, shaking her head.

They continued their way through the Grimm, Oscar kept his eyes half-open to watch the halls pass. It was dim, but still light enough to see around them. It looked familiar- what Oscar had seen about a day ago. The huntsmen walked quietly- keeping low and cautious. Eventually, the area shifted in hue. The dim red light became a bit more gray and washed out.

Oscar lifted his head a bit- looking around. A chilly breeze drifted through the cavern, making Oscar shiver more, but he could see the gaping entrance, lined with bleach-pale flat bone-like teeth. The sky beyond it was a dim pale-morning gray that was beginning to illuminate the endless tundra on the horizon. Wafts of dark smoke drifted from Mantle below. From this distance, Oscar couldn't tell how intact the city was. How much had changed in 24 hours?

Oscar skimmed the sky as well, noticing flashes of red-orange light appearing and fizzling out. Streaks of vibrant green and white pillars following the flashes.

"Good," Nora sighed in relief, "Penny's keeping Cinder busy still."

"Let’s hope she keeps her attention away from us," Jaune said stiffly, approaching the flat white bones that lined the entrance, placing a hand on its rough exterior.

Ren nodded, reaching up and grabbing the top of one tooth and hoisting himself to the top before offering Nora a hand up. Jaune climbed up as well, Oscar's arms going stiff as he tried his best to cling to him as the open air brushed his cheeks.

"We need to stay together the best we can," Jaune said as he gripped his shield, "But if we  _ do _ get separated we all need to meet up at the good Doctor's place."

"And if we  _ do _ get separated," Nora added, " _ You _ will go there as quickly as possible and not stop for anything-  _ right?" _

Jaune let out a dry chuckle, "Of course." He jostled his shoulder a bit and glanced at Oscar who was pressing himself as close to Jaune as he could, "Oscar is first priority."

Oscar flushed at that and pressed his head down and mumbled, "Sorry."

Ren reached over and patted Oscar's shoulder, "We just want you to be safe."

Oscar puffed his cheeks before quickly turning his head to cough into his shoulder again. Ren's eyes flashed in concern.

"Okay team," Jaune said, "Let's get going." Jaune pulled back, glancing at Oscar once more with a reassuring expression before leaping.

The cold air streamed around them, making Oscar's skin burn and itch as he clung to Jaune. His heart pounded but he grit his teeth.

_ Two mornings in a row I fall from the sky _ , Oscar thought with a wrinkled nose, watching the dark spots of buildings grow bigger and bigger.

Oscar glanced to the side to see Ren and Nora not far away, staring at the ground with narrowed and determined expressions. In a smooth, quick movement, Jaune lifted his arms and extended his shield, the sudden change in air resistance causing them to jolt a bit before their descent began to slow. Nora and Ren fell past them, moving quicker. Oscar watched as Ren shot his hooked blades at a tall post, twisting around it a couple of times to lose momentum before unhooking them with a click of a button and a yank of his hands, and slid down the rest of the pole without much issue. Nora simply took a few shots of gravity dust to slow her fall, the dark violet energy sparking and a couple of times before Nora pulled back her hammer, did a flip (which may or may not have been important- Oscar was too tired to comb through the information in his head to check) and landed on the ashy ground of Mantle.

Jaune and Oscar took a little bit more time to reach the ground, Oscar figured that Jaune could have fallen a lot faster if he wasn't trying to be careful with his extra passenger. Nora and Ren ran through the streets underneath them, following their path before Jaune's feet touched the ground a couple of blocks ahead of them. Jaune hesitated- like he considered waiting for them- before taking off through the streets of Mantle. As he ran, Jaune fished out something out of his pocket. The cuffs around Oscar's wrists clicked and Jaune pulled them off as he turned a corner.

A crashing sound jolted them. Jaune quickly darted into an alley as Oscar gripped Jaune again with his freed hands.

A building close by jolted again and began to crumple inwards as a Grimm crashed through one of the walls and into the street.

Jaune lifted his hand up to his ear, "How far away are you?"

"a block or two, why?" Oscar could hear Nora's muffled voice.

"There's a Grimm over here, I don't want to get in a fight at all, much less with just me and Oscar," Jaune remarked with a hissed whisper.

"Be right there," Ren responded.

Jaune held Oscar close, stiff, and alert in their hiding place. The chilly air made Oscar shiver where he was on Jaune’s back. There was little warmth to find from the sparse touch of the huntsman covered in armor which had grown much colder in the short time since leaving the large whale Grimm, and the cold stone wall, slicked with ice.

Ren and Nora dashed around a corner into view, Ren holding Nora’s arm tightly- likely his semblance already activated. They ducked into the alley as well- Nora immediately giving them hugs.

“Great job,” she whispered.

Jaune smiled a bit at that before grabbing Ren’s shoulder, a slight glow appearing on his hand. With Ren and Jaune keeping them all hidden, Nora took that moment of adjustment to completely free Oscar from their make-shift harness, scooping him into her own arms which- without Jaune’s cold metal armor- was actually a tiny bit warmer.

“Alright boys,” Nora said as quietly as she could, “let’s get going.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning for "bad sensory" descriptions near the end. Nothing too bad just- might squick you out if you are the type who gets uncomfortable about textures.

With Jaune boosting Ren- they slipped through Mantle without any problems. Sure, they were careful and did their best to avoid being within the sight of any Grimm, but without their emotions leaking out, they were all unaware of the team of huntsmen and their sick charge running by.

Jaune had his scroll out and was pointing directions, leading them down streets and through alleys.

Oscar couldn’t really tell if anything around him was familiar. It had been over a month since he had been down in Mantle that first night and things were both destroyed and coated in a dim morning gray rather than the night and city lights now.

Oscar gave up on trying to keep up with their position fairly quickly. His eyes kept dipping and his brain felt foggy. The only things he could really focus on was in what ways he felt crappy and the ways he really wished he could get out of it. None of these brain-suggestions were valid as Oscar was fairly certain that chopping off the wound would just make another larger wound and so on and so forth.

Nora held him close. She would pat his back as he coughed into his arm and run her fingers through his hair. It was always odd to see her like this. Nora's usual peppy and care-free attitude was nowhere to be seen, whenever Oscar glanced up at her she would offer a gentle smile instead of her usual wide beaming grin. He didn't miss the creases of worry around her eyes. 

All Oscar wanted to do was sleep now, he was cold, tired and everything hurt. But he felt like if he were to fall asleep he would somehow be even more of a dead weight. Even so, he found himself dozing off. His eyes would dip and then they'd be on a completely different block when his eyes would open again.

  
  


"You. Stop."

Oscar's eyes fluttered open at the unfamiliar voice that woke him from his haze. Oscar wearily lifted his head and looked around. They stood in a narrow alleyway, the morning light getting brighter. Oscar turned his head to look ahead of them to see a woman with blue hair and gold eyes, a large crossbow held in her arms. She wore a mustard-yellow long coat with dusty brown lapels over a bit of armor. A bird pin that Oscar recalled was associated with Robyn Hill was attached to one of her lapels.

"May," Ren said quickly, holding up his arm placatingly, "We need to get through. Is Dr. Polendena here?"

The huntress, May, glanced at them with a stern expression before locking eyes with Oscar who tried for a polite smile. "Is he hurt?" She asked, the tension in her voice dropping a bit.

Nora held him a little bit tighter, "Yeah. We need to get him medical attention, we're not going to cause trouble."

May sighed, letting the tip of the crossbow drop. "Go on, we need more capable hands anyway. The three of us are spread pretty thin. Get the kid taken care of." She stepped aside, nodding them through.

They walked through, moving into the next street. Oscar glanced around. A handful of yards away on either side of the street, trucks were pushed against each other, blocking the street. Some people were moving rubble against them, creating barriers. Fire pits dotted the streets, people huddled around them for warmth. Mostly everyone looked dirty or had bandages. Exhaustion written on their faces.

Pietro's Clinic doors were wide open, standing in front of them in a similar coat to May but an ashy green, the same pin on her lapel, was another woman holding a weapon, this one extended into a double-sided cudgel. She was more petite than May with fluffy white hair and white sheep ears that perked when they approached.

"Oh, do you need the doctor?" She asked quickly, looking at them with her wide olive-green eyes.

Jaune ducked his head a bit, "Yeah- please. He's poisoned."

The Faunus woman's ears dropped in horror, "Poisoned?"

"Envenomed," Oscar corrected dryly, leaning his head back into Nora's shoulder who lightly swatted his shoulder.

The huntress's grip tightened on her weapon. "Callows," she hissed. She turned quickly and stuck her head into the clinic, "Doc! We got a hurt little boy!" She quickly waved them all in.

Oscar almost sighed in relief when they walked inside. He was still shivering cold, but it was much warmer than outside.

The clinic was a disaster compared to when Oscar saw it last. Furniture was pushed up against the walls and people sat all around on the floor and in chairs scattered across the area, people clutching bandaged wounds and holding sleeping injured friends and family. 

"Coming!" Pietro's voice was heard from elsewhere, the sound of his chair wurring to move across the space. As soon as he came around a curtain he froze with wide eyes before picking back up his speed and getting closer. "What are all of you doing down here?"

They all looked at Oscar.

He waved.

Pietro approached, looking at Oscar with a surprised expression, but a small smile appeared despite it, "You found him, thank goodness."

"Yeah," Jaune sighed, "He's not in good shape though."

Nora knelt down a bit with Oscar still in her arms. "He was stung by Tyrian," she explained, "He's coughing up blood and turning into a furnace."

"Is this what people mean when they say that someone is hot?" Oscar murmured as Pietro leaned over and put a hand on his forehead.

Nora, Ren, and Jaune shot him disapproving looks.

Pietro leaned back and turned his head, "Maria! See if you can clear up a bed, we have a new patient."

"I'll see what I can do!" Maria's voice shot back.

Oscar found himself drifting off again. At some point, someone put a thin blanket around him as he stayed in Nora's arms. He briefly woke up again when he felt Nora setting him down on some kind of bed and pulled another blanket over him. What seemed like barely any time later- just as Oscar was starting to feel at least a little bit comfortable, someone was coaxing him to sit up.

He swatted at them.

"Come on, bud," that was Jaune's voice, "Just gotta drink something for us."

Oscar grumbled incoherently. He didn't want a  _ drink _ he wanted to go back to sleep. His body ached and he started coughing the moment he sat up, sputtering into his gloves which were beginning to look more red than orange- he wasn't sure, everything was a little bit blurry. Someone- probably Jaune- patted his back until the coughing subsided.

"Sorry," Jaune said, sounding weary, "just this and you can go back to sleep. Doctor said you'll sleep even better."

Oscar tried to turn his head away when someone pressed a cup to his lips. It smelled sickly sweet and like grapes. Oscar  _ hated _ grape flavored medicine, it was a mockery of real grapes.

"I promise, I'll let you go right back to sleep," Jaune sighed, one hand firm on Oscar's shoulder, "I can and  _ will _ get Nora to do this. She  _ will _ try to pour it down your throat."

Oscar shuttered at that thought. Choking on grape-flavored medicine seems like the absolute worst way to go. Dying with that taste in your mouth? No thanks.

Oscar gave in and let Jaune tilt the cup back. As Oscar assumed, it was disgusting. It was thick and had a grainy texture that made Oscar's skin crawl. It was like someone had made the world's worst grape flavored tea and then dumped it over a whole cup of sugar until it turned into grainy mush. What made it even worse was that whenever Oscar got gross syrup like this, it was a small shot that he could take in one gulp. It took a couple of mouthfuls of the awful stuff before it was gone.

He shuttered again, the sickly sweet taste and the horrible texture coating his mouth.

"At least it isn't orange," Jaune said helping Oscar lay back down.

Oscar shook his head and when he spoke, his voice was raspy, "That would be a crime to all of Remnant."

"It exists," Jaune replied stoically, "I had to take a blood sugar test when I was nine and I had to drink a whole cup of grainy gross sweet stuff that tasted like rotten orange soda."

Oscar twisted his face in disgust while he settled into the pillow, listening to Jaune talk.

"I know, right!" Jaune groaned, "I used to love orange soda but now I can't drink the stuff without thinking about that..."

Jaune kept talking, but Oscar found everything growing dimmer and dimmer. He couldn't focus on Jaune's voice or what he was saying it all turned to mush until it all was just... nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact- at the end of the chapter, Jaune talks about a horrid blood sugar test with gross orange-tasting glucose mixture. That was just me complaining about my blood sugar test with gross orange-tasting glucose mixture.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than the others- sorry!

Oscar did  _ not _ feel better when he woke up. If anything- he felt worse.

The first thing he  _ did _ notice was that he had at least 3 more blankets than he did before. Not "all the blankets in Mantle" like he had been promised, but Oscar would take it.

He felt like he had been run over by a truck. Everything hurt, his chest raddled when he breathed, his head pounded, and his stomach was not happy with him. Oscar rubbed his face, noting one thin tube that connected to his arm. His coat was gone, and so were his gloves and shirt. Bandages were wrapped around his chest and stomach, covering the wound on his back which still stung. Oscar coughed weakly into one of the blankets that were pulled all the way up to his chin. He groaned.

Where he laid was surrounded by a hushed din of people talking. Some crying. Oscar couldn't see them as he realized his bed was in the corner of the room and was covered by a curtain.

"Oscar?" Ren stuck his head through the curtains, "You awake?"

"Unfortunately," Oscar murmured.

Ren pulled the curtain so he could walk in. He made his way to Oscar's side and brushed his hand on Oscar's forehead, "You're still really warm."

Ren's hand felt nice and cool and Oscar almost lifted his head to lean into it.

"Are you warm enough? Nora got every blanket she could get her hands on," Ren asked gently, a fond smile on his face.

"Yeah," Oscar said quietly, pulling them close, "What did Doctor Poliendina say?"

Ren rubbed his neck, "Well, you were dehydrated-"

"Wonderful," Oscar commented.

"-your fever hasn't dipped much at all, and the sting was infected."

"Awesome," Oscar responded, "What about the whole... venom thing?"

Ren glanced away, not a good sign. "Well," Ren started carefully- also not a good thing, "Doctor Poliendina didn't have any antidotes down here. I hate to admit that... Wiess might have been right."

Oscar's stomach dropped. "What so- I'm  _ dying?" _

"No!" Ren said quickly, grabbing Oscar's arm as his pulse skyrocketed, "No, It's just not an easy fix. Doctor Poliendina is keeping a good eye on you, I promise."

Oscar tried his best to slow his breathing. Laying in a hospital bed made this all... too  _ real _ . Oscar glanced down at the arm that Ren held, seeing the flecks of blood on his hand. His fingers twitched and Oscar fought to keep his breathing even. He needed- he needed-

_ The Cane _ .

Oscar jolted upwards, his heart pounding as he looked around, already knowing that he wasn't going to find anything. Who had taken it? Oscar couldn’t remember. It could be out in the snow outside of Mantle for all he remembered. Did he see Tyrian pick it up? If he did, did he hand it off to Salem?

His breath hitched and he let out another fit of coughing. The curtain's rings dragged loudly on the bar. Ren was patting his back and it took Oscar a moment to realize he was talking to him.

"Oscar, it's okay- everything's going to be okay," Ren soothed as another hand took Oscar's free one.

Oscar took a deep breath as soon as he could, seeing the blood that was now covering one hand.

Jaune was holding Oscar's other hand now, Nora leaning in, Oscar could see Pietro quickly approaching with Maria at his side.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Pietro asked quickly as he got up to them.

Ren glanced up as he patted Oscar’s back some more, “I think so? Oscar, why did you-“

_ “The Cane,” _ Oscar breathed, clutching the blankets,  _ “My _ cane- Long Memory- I-I don’t have it.”

They all looked at each other with uneasy expressions.

“I  _ need  _ it!” Oscar continued emphatically.

Nora frowned, “Oscar- I understand but…  _ your  _ cane? I didn’t know that you cared about it that much.”

Oscar clutched at his chest, the gaping nervous feeling of it being far and  _ gone _ and maybe even lost forever. Maybe it was Oz again, his influence bubbling up to the surface, but Oscar had grown to have a strong connection to the weapon. It was the only weapon he had ever had and the feeling of safety and security that he felt when it was gripped in his hand was real.

“I know… I just… it’s- it’s important,” Oscar said, running the back of his hand over his mouth, “and- I don’t know where it is, it’s just- struck me and… I don’t want to lose it.”

Jaune’s expression softened, “I’ll send the girls a message. We haven’t heard much from them, but I’ll tell them to keep an eye out for it, okay?”

Oscar nodded before letting Ren coax him back into laying down. 

It was hard to sleep, Oscar wasn’t entirely sure how he drifted off so easily before. The entire clinic had a lull of chatter and no matter what he tried, Oscar continuously found himself tuning into bits of conversation. Parents telling children to rest, friends telling each other who they know is in Atlas- even periodic appearances of Pietro telling people they were free to go or should stay a bit longer. The lights hummed. Someone announced that they had gotten tinder for the furnace. 

Even when it all turned into a dull roar Oscar’s mind circled. Out somewhere in the sky was Salem. The others were all there. No back up now that Oscar had made JNR take him down into Mantle. Was Penny okay? She had been fighting Cinder. Oscar could  _ feel _ the hum of magic as they climbed out of the giant Grimm. Penny must be the Winter Maiden now. But she was new to the powers. She couldn't have gotten them more than a day ago against Cinder who had months with full maiden powers and even longer after she stole some of the powers from Amber. If Neapolitan had been up there, Salem also had the Relic of Knowledge. Two maidens, a relic, and Long Memory. All up there. And here Oscar was. Down in Mantle. Trying to stay alive.

Oscar coughed into the blankets. Not caring about staining them now. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished this and wanted to post it asap so here's the chapter like- 12 hours early.
> 
> I promised hurt/comfort on this train.

Oscar wasn't dumb.

Even though he found himself being tossed in and out of sleep with very little idea about how much time passed- from the bits and fragments he could pull together- he knew he wasn't doing well.

The first handful of times he surfaced, it was a toss-up over who was sitting near him. Ren, Nora, and Jaune seemed to be taking shifts. After that, every time Oscar opened his eyes, Jaune was there, holding his hand, a small glow of his semblance in the dim curtained-off corner. Oscar didn't miss the exhaustion on his face. Jaune wouldn't be doing this if he wasn't worried.

"... _ please _ you have to look," Oscar heard at one point, his eyes heavy and insistent on staying closed. "I doubt Salem would keep someone as volatile as  _ Tyrian _ around without being sure that she had an antivenom or  _ something _ ." The voice sounded  _ desperate. _

Oscar turned his head, someone had shifted his body so he was less flat. He forced his eyes open, seeing Jaune and Ren hunched over a scroll. Oscar blearily shifted his gaze, noting dried blood on the pillow and blankets. His breathing rattled his chest.

"Have you found Ozpin's Cane?" Jaune added, "I think I've heard Oscar mutter about it in his sleep, I know it's not as important but- okay. Thanks. Stay safe." Jaune sighed and let his head drop.

Oscar's eyes felt like they were being pulled down my weights. It was so hard to keep them open.

Ren's head turned back to Oscar and their eyes met.

"Oscar, you're awake?" Ren asked, moving around Jaune to be right next to Oscar, cupping his cheek. Ren's hands were always so nice and cool. Oscar leaned into it.

Oscar hummed in agreement.

Ren reached over and held a small cup of water, "Here, you should drink something."

Oscar twisted up his face, "No grape syrup."

"It's just water, I promise," Ren smiled, "Jaune told me of your disdain for syrup medicine, not to worry, I will not be as mean as him."

"Don't pin it on me!" Jaune retorted, "Doctor Polendina told me he had to drink it!"

Oscar chuckled a bit before coughing into his hands. His mouth tasted like copper and his eyes stung as the exertion.

Ren handed the cup to Jaune and pulled out his pocket pack of tissues. It looked like it was running low. As soon as the coughing stopped Ren carefully took Oscar's wrist and started cleaning the blood off. Part of Oscar wanted to tell him not to bother- it would be back in no time at all, but it also felt like too much to even argue. As soon as Oscar's hands were clean again, Ren took the cup back from Jaune.

"Take two," Ren said, trying to put on a light voice.

Oscar didn't complain as Ren kept a hand on the cup as Oscar sipped it.

_ I wouldn't trust me either _ , Oscar thought darkly as he finished the cup of water and Ren took it away.

Oscar let his head rest more heavily on the pillows again. "I feel gross," Oscar mumbled.

"You're sick," Jaune pointed out, "Of course you feel gross." He leaned over Ren and pressed a hand to Oscar's forehead, "Hasn't broken yet. Still."

Oscar frowned, shifting the blankets closer, he felt cold with no shirt and just bandages covering his torso. "How long?" Oscar asked, trying to get warm again.

"Huh?" Jaune rose an eyebrow.

"How long have we been here?" Oscar asked, "I close my eyes for two seconds and someone else is here."

Ren frowned, "It's been over a day."

"It's the afternoon. We got here yesterday morning," Jaune explained.

Oscar sputtered, barely swallowing another coughing fit, "W-Why aren't the others back yet?"

Ren shook his head, "That big whale Grimm fell out of the sky last night. We haven't gotten all the details for why. RWBY is trying to find the Relic of Knowledge and any of Salem's henchmen that got away. All we know is that Salem got away- we're not sure if she took the relic or anything else with her or not."

"Where's Nora?" Oscar asked.

"Out with the Happy Huntresses," Jaune explained, "We've been helping them keep the area safe from the Grimm. It seems like they appreciate the extra hands."

Oscar glanced around again, trying to take in if anything had changed. Same place. No change. Except for... well...

His eyes fell to the scroll still clutched in Jaune's hand. He held it in a vice grip, like a lifeline. Oscar knew what Jaune looked like when he was stressed. Jaune's attempt at a cheerful smile was undercut by the stiffness in his shoulders and the creases between his eyes. The shadows of exhaustion didn't help either.

Things weren't good. Oscar could tell.

"What does Doctor Polendina say?" Oscar asked, trying to be as blunt as possible.

He knew they saw him as a child. Ever since they got to Atlas, the coddling that Oscar had become somewhat accustomed to in Mistral had been multiplied. Oscar didn't  _ mind _ it per se, sometimes it was nice to have people worry about him, but Oscar could tell when they tried to soften their worries for him. In Atlas, it seemed like they were even more careful for a time. It wasn't hard to figure out that they- especially Jaune- were trying to make up for the situation in Argus. Oscar tried to show them that he had put it all behind him. That it wasn't on his mind. That they were forgiven and didn't have to tiptoe around his feelings. They didn't have to now.

It wasn't hard to see uncertainty and hesitance. Ren may have a calm face but his eyes were expressive. Jaune... Jaune was an open book.

"Just give it to me straight," Oscar said in their hesitance.

Jaune gave a half-hearted coy smile, "You know that's impos-"

"I'm not  _ joking _ ," Oscar pressed, his voice raising before he was broken off by a cough. He recovered quickly, "I know you don't want me to worry, but  _ I am _ , don't  _ hide _ things from me." Oscar breathed heavily. Talking, sitting up, staking  _ awake _ \- everything felt so  _ difficult _ , Oscar could feel the weight in his body, threatening to make him drop. "I'm not..." Oscar took a deep breath, feeling light-headed, "I'm not  _ dumb." _

Jaune quickly grabbed Oscar's shoulders before he could fall off the cot. "Oscar, we don't think that! We're just worried, we don't want to scare you. You're going to be fine-"

"You don't want to  _ scare me?" _ Oscar shot back, his eyes wide and wild, "I spent a whole twenty-four hours in that...  _ Whale _ , my scroll somewhere in the wide-open snow of Mistral, no weapon, no one knowing that I'm missing, stung by that  _ slimy man _ -" Oscar gasped for breath, "You- you guys only knew I was there because I woke up and heard you talking. No one was looking for me." Only now Oscar noticed that his face was wet. All this time- he didn't cry. But this? This is what broke him? Oscar couldn't stop the dam from finally breaking, unable to swallow the knot in his throat and the pathetic sounding sobs it made. "I've  _ been _ scared," Oscar admitted, almost feeling ashamed for saying it out loud.

The soft buzzing warmth of Oz brushed his cheek like he was trying to wipe a tear away.  _ It's okay to be scared, you know that Oscar _ , Oz's gentle voice hummed.

Another hand grabbed his wrist and a third stroked his hair.

"It's okay," Jaune murmured, his thumb gently brushing back and forth on Oscar's wrist, "I know, I'm sorry. It's pretty dumb of  _ me _ to think that you haven't been scared this whole time, anyway."

Ren reached out with his other hand, actually wiping away a few of Oscar's tears. "And you're right. We had no idea you were there. But I don't think you understand how relieved we were to see you."

"You think I was dead?" Oscar asked, sniffling a bit.

Their expressions fell. "We didn't know what to think," Jaune admitted, "Your aura was gone and it didn't come back."

"You were taken off of the wanted list," Ren explained, "We hoped that you were just with Ironwood and that you had been arrested and had your scroll taken away."

"It was too much like Beacon," Jaune said darkly, fingers brushing the red fabric tied around his waist, "We didn't want to lose you, but we were scared that we did."

Ren pulled his fingers through Oscar's hair until it was pulled out of his face, "I think we're scared that if we admit that things might not be good, they won't get better. That we still might lose you."

Oscar could feel a name on his lips. A vague image and a feeling of warmth and  _ pride and regret. _ "Pyrrha," He murmured.

"She ran off by herself too," Jaune muttered, "Hate to say it, but you two are too much alike to not make all of us scared out of our wits."

Oscar's shoulders slumped. Oz's guilt was too palpable to ignore. "I'm sorry," Oscar said softly, "For running off on my own. And scaring you all."

"If you keep going missing like this, we're going to- I don't know- keep you on a toddler leash," Jaune threatened without much bite, his small smile looked a bit watery.

"I don't think toddler leashes come in 14-year-old boy sizes," Oscar puffed his cheeks.

"Oh, we will find one," Ren said in an ominous tone.

Oscar couldn't help but snicker, Ren, wiping the rest of the tears from his face.

"Okay, here's what's going on," Jaune sighed, "when Qrow got stung, it wasn't good. You've been sleeping a lot and we're scared. He was delirious after the third day and we knew we didn't have much time after that."

"And well... you're a lot smaller than him," Ren admitted, "We do have the advantage that you are currently in some kind of medical care facility. Granted- severely understocked, but it's something."

"The girls are still trying to find everyone who is left and maybe they can find an antivenom in the.... flying whale crash," Jaune continued, "And your cane. We know that you want it back."

Oscar smiled a bit at that, "Thanks. And... thanks for being honest with me."

Jaune squeezed his hand. "Sorry, we weren't right away. Get some more rest."

Oscar nodded, settling back down again, his eyes too heavy to stay open. He could hear Ren and Jaune shuffling and changing seats and such, it was hard to tell what exactly but they were trying their best to be quiet.

The gentle buzz of warmth reappeared, it felt like someone stroking his hair with a gentle hand.

_ You have a good family here, _ Oz's wistful voice said.

Oscar's heart squeezed at the thought. He felt the tips of his mouth move up.

"Mm-hmm."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, "you have a nice family here" what the last thing I wrote in my original outline of this fic. It was supposed to be for right after Oscar got rescued. I realized I didn't add as much fluff as I meant to so I decided to extend the outline and move the line later. I realized halfway through writing this chapter that it belonged HERE


	11. Chapter 11

Qrow wasn’t here so Oscar knew his bad luck was all belonged to him. Although, Oz seemed to be certain that the poor luck was his own. Oscar suggested that if every one of Oz’s lives had a bit of bad luck and it had just all piled up. Nobody in particular’s fault but still bad luck.

Oz took that theory.

Oscar turned his head in the pillows. Letting out raspy coughs and half-wishing he had a second eyelid to make everything a bit darker.

Nora must have noticed his movement because she spoke up.

“Are you awake?” She whispered.

“Unfortunately,” Oscar murmured, not opening his eyes.

Nora scooted the chair that she and her teammates cycled through using a little bit closer, “how do you feel?”

“Like someone’s trying to scoop out my brain with a plastic spoon,” Oscar replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

Nora paused. “Why plastic?”

“They bend, jiggle around, and are bad at scooping,” Oscar explained.

“That’s a… very specific reason. Are you… thinking about how it feels?” Nora asked. Oscar could feel the cot dip as she leaned on it.

“Nothing else to do when you can’t sleep,” Oscar said softly, “Just thinking about… lobsters.”

This pause was much longer. “About  _ what?” _

“They’re cooked alive unless someone decides they want to be nice and chop their brain in half,” Oscar mumbled, “I’m being cooked alive.”

Nora sighed, her hand brushing his cheek, “have you gotten warmer? Your ramblings are getting weirder.”

“No, you have to understand,” Oscar trapped her hand between one of his and his cheek, “Be nice and kill the lobster with the knife.”

“But you just said…wait are  _ you  _ a lobster?” Nora sounded absolutely incredulous.

“No, I’m Oscar… Why would I be a lobster?” 

Nora groaned loudly. “I’m not sure if I’m more worried about your mental or physical health right now.”

"I'm perfectly fine, you're the one who asked if I was a lobster," Oscar tried for a coy smile, finally prying an eyelid open- he couldn't miss Nora's face.

Nora buried her head in her hands, letting out a long, slow sigh. "Yeah, yeah, I guess you got me there. Why do I get the feeling that you know exactly what you're doing to mess with me?"

"I saw an opportunity and I took it," Oscar smiled, clearing his throat a bit before continuing, "You're the one trying to make sense of me. No traps, only chaos."

Nora rolled her eyes, "Okay, go back to sleep lobster boy, you're going to fry both of our brains at this rate."

"I can't sleep," Oscar mumbled, closing his eyes again, "There's an evil plastic spoon scooping out my brain."

Nora let out a long breath, Oscar could feel her hand wrap around his. "You wanna talk?"

"No," Oscar admitted, squeezing his eyes shut tighter, "My head hurts a lot. Brain isn't solid enough."

"Do..." Nora trailed off, "You wanna listen to something?"

Oscar frowned, "If you read that scary story copypasta again, I will find a way to destroy you without moving from this spot."

Nora snorted. "No hand hook man car door?" Her voice was  _ highly  _ mischievous.

"You are  _ worse _ than the Riddle Master," Oscar groaned, "leave me to the cruel scoop of the plastic spoon." Oscar yanked up the blanket before he accidentally started coughing into it. Oscar groaned again, loudly. "Where are RWBY?"

Nora was shuffling around before reaching over and wiping Oscar's mouth with a damp cloth. Oscar screwed up his face- not liking how weak the gesture made him feel. "Not sure, we haven't gotten any updates in the last few hours. Ren and Jaune have been starting to suggest we go out after them. I'm almost convinced. Especially after the lobsters."

Oscar tried for a toothy grin, imagining Nora's disapproving look.

"I know I'm usually great at rambling- but not for boring get you to  _ sleep _ rambling, that's more of Ren's expertise,” Nora remarked, "If you ask Ren to talk you to sleep, he usually starts talking about tea. After Beacon, I had a really hard time falling asleep most nights- well, all of us did. Ren's too much of a mom to not do something about it. We stayed with Jaune and his parents for a few months and I can remember a lot of nights of us all sitting in the kitchen." Nora's voice turned warmer, an obvious fond tone, "He would insist that since we couldn't sleep we should all get up and sit somewhere else. He bought a bunch of tea after the first night we were all stuck up together. I think he was trying to convert us. We'd end up sitting in the kitchen and Ren would just ramble about whatever tea he made for us that night. After a while, we would all get tired and he would drag us back to bed. I honestly miss our little tea routine. We ended up doing it a couple of times in Mistral but- I don't know, it felt different."

"Sounds nice," Oscar murmured with a yawn.

Nora squeezed his hand, "Hey, how about after all of this- when you feel better, we should find a tea shop to drag Ren to and let him nerd out. It's really cute when he's being a dork."

"Gross," Oscar stuck his tongue out,  _ "Romance." _

Nora scoffed,  _ "Please _ , you should see Jaune's face when Ren gets going."

_ "All of you _ ," Oscar whispered, "Sappy."

"Well, you have to deal with us saps. You're  _ stuck _ with us," Nora teased.

Oscar let out another raspy cough before opening his eyes a slit to stick out his tongue again.

Nora stuck her hand over his eyes, "If you're just going to tease me then storytime is over. Bedtime for farm boys."

Oscar chuckled, "Keep your hand there, it's better."

Nora let out an over-exaggerated sigh, "Okay okay okay. I guess you can steal my hand for a while."

Nora's hand was nice and cool. The less light that filtered through made the throbbing ache calm down, the drowsiness finding a grip on Oscar. Oscar didn't fight it, letting himself fall back asleep. Praying that the next time he woke up, he could reassure the others. Maybe find a way to make up for this mess. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter right after I recovered from a migraine. During that time- I kept thinking about lobsters for some reason. I thought it would be funny and accurate to show the weird pain fixations your brain gets on.
> 
> also
> 
> Me: I'm going to sprinkle some JNPR Berries  
> Me: *dumps the whole can on the fic*


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S BEEN ALMOST A WEEK. BAD MIES.
> 
> A wrote down a paragraph in here to pad out dialogue and then realized I shouldn't say it because then I'll have to actually consider doing it. And thus further extended It's Venomous and gave me writer's anxiety along with finals prep. 
> 
> But I'm here now with a shorter chapter just to get out something so I can move on.
> 
> TW: Choking

Dying wasn't in Oscar's plans. So waking up not being able to breathe was disconcerting.

His mouth tasted like copper as Oscar struggled to breathe, grabbing at his throat, his lungs burning. Everything was getting blurry and dark when firm hands flipped him over, a hand firmly patting his back.

Oscar felt his mouth fill with the coppery liquid- he didn't pause in coughing and spitting it everywhere- desperate for a clear breath.

He was starting to understand Oz's aversion to being ill. Glynda Goodwitch's teasing about Ozpin's desk drawer full of hand sanitizer was no longer hilarious. Oscar was on board to be anal about germs for the rest of his life.

The patting turned to rubbing circles into his shoulder blades as Oscar's throat cleared, taking in clean, cool air. His throat felt sore from the effort, it stung quite a bit.

"Just take deep breaths, no need to rush," Jaune's voice said gently, a hand still firmly rubbing his back, "Hyperventilating isn't fun either."

Oscar shook his head in agreement, slowly opening his eyes again, off-put by the splatter of blood all over the sheets below him. Oscar tried to turn his eyes away from the blood.

"You good?" Jaune asked and Oscar nodded. Jaune stood up from his chair, "Come on, we can change the sheets."

Oscar didn't argue as Jaune pulled one of the blankets around him and lifted Oscar into his arms. Oscar leaned onto Jaune's shoulder. It was quieter now, probably night. This entire situation just kept getting more and more embarrassing- Oscar hated it. Jaune stripped the cot and carried Oscar to a cabinet where there were more sheets. Oscar stayed quiet as Jaune set him down on the chair next to the bed and piled the rest of the blankets on him.

"I have good news- RWBY is on their way back," Jaune said as he reached around, tucking the clean sheets in, "They said they had your cane for sure."

Oscar smiled a bit at that. He really wanted it back. His hand was itching for its weight in his hand.

"Did they find the antivenom?" Oscar rasped, his throat still torn up.

Jaune shook the sheet out, "They think so, but we aren't sure- a lot of the stuff from the wreckage was broken and labels were ruined. We talked to the Doctor but he'd have to take a look at it."

"So it could be like- acid," Oscar groaned.

Jaune chuckled without humor- the concern on his face was as open as usual. "Let's not jinx it. But with Salem gone- if it's not it- we have a better chance of getting through to Ironwood. I'm sure we can get up to Atlas in the next few days."

Oscar looked down at himself. His skin was beginning to look more ashen under the bandages. He couldn't even imagine what his face looked like. Jaune  _ should _ know- he probably didn't  _ have _ a few days for peace talks with James who had shown the worst fit of almost  _ childish _ stubbornness. "Jaune I don't think-"

"Don't," Jaune's voice sharpened, gripping a blanket he was laying down, "Don't say it or it will be true. He  _ has _ to listen to us. He wouldn't let something like that happen to you."

Oscar curled around his pillow.

James didn't even know he was alive. Hell- James had tried to  _ kill _ him. James  _ thought _ he had killed Oscar.

Why would he try and save him?

Jaune scooped up Oscar again, "Clean bed- Maybe I could change your bandages too? I always feel bad if I'm dirty in a clean bed."

Oscar nodded, not arguing as Jaune fetched clean bandages and stayed still as Jaune carefully cleaned the sting again and changed the bandages. It hurt. Oscar bit his lip so he wouldn't complain as the sharp burning sensation sprouted like spiderwebs across his back.

"Clean bed, clean bandages-" Jaune said, tucking Oscar in.

"-Sweaty sweaty farm boy," Oscar finished, sticking out his tongue.

Jaune snorted. "Oh yes- you're not wrong. Do you think now that Wiess is basically an heiress again- she'd let us use whatever fancy bathtubs are in that giant house of hers after this is all over?"

"Perhaps," Oscar rasped, clearing his throat and making sure to shift the pillows underneath his head to prop it up. He tried to ignore how his chest rattled with every breath. 

Jaune smoothed Oscar’s hair out of his eyes before gripping Oscar’s hand again, a familiar warmth encasing his hand.

“You don’t need to-,” Oscar started but Jaune squeezed his hand.

“Go to sleep, RWBY will be here soon,” Jaune promised.

Oscar shook his head, “want my cane.”

“You’re not going anywhere any time soon, young man,” Jaune scolded in an exaggerated tone but with a narrowed brow that showed that he meant it.

Oscar huffed. His fingers still itched for the familiar weight of Long Memory. The hazy memories and feelings of carefully tightening screws and testing the way it moved through the air. The careful, delicate movements of the slow day that he had taken to add the adornments to the grip. The smell of paint and satisfaction-tinged exhaustion when it was done.

Oscar wanted it back so badly. There was a small weight off his chest knowing that it was no longer lost to the wind and on its way back to him- but it wasn’t in his hands. Was this how Oz felt as they walked out of the train station in Mistral. The itch of something missing being so close but not sure of  _ how  _ close. He could remember holding it for the first time. How it was  _ new _ but seemed to fit perfectly in his hands. Like it was meant to be there. Like it had never left.

Oscar coughed again. His chest sore and his throat stinging. Jaune squeezed his hand.

“Jaune, I need to tell you something,” Oscar rasped.

Jaune scowled, “Oscar, I’m worried,  _ not the time  _ for jokes.”

Oscar rolled his eyes, “I would not say something so cliché to start my dying breath monologue, I have more class. I’m serious.”

Jaune sighed and leaned forward. “What is it?”

“I don’t think James will try to help me,” Oscar said.

Jaune immediately rose his eyebrows, “What- why not and  _ James?” _

“It’s to piss him off- not important. This is about what I ran off to do in Atlas,” Oscar explained, “I knew- well, I  _ know, _ where the Relic of Creation is. I figured that The General was down there. And I was right. I went to go try and talk to him, to change his mind.” Oscar took a shaky breath, “he didn’t want to listen to me. He got mad. He-“ Oscar had to stop to take another deep breath, “he shot me.”

Jaune’s face went from serious to worried to furious… and then fear. “That’s- that’s when your aura went down but- but then how did you get captured by Salem, you were in Atlas-“

“The Relic chamber. It’s at the very bottom of Atlas. It has… cliffs, that go down to the last layer of crust. I fell or… he shot me off of it.”

Jaune’s grip on Oscar’s hand tightened. “You… you fell off of Atlas. He- he tried to  _ kill you-  _ he took you off the wanted list he- he  _ thinks you’re dead.” _

Oscar nodded grimly. 

Jaune started muttering curses under his breath. “As soon as RWBY gets here we’re contacting Atlas-“ Oscar didn’t comment on the vice grip on his hand now, Jaune looked like he was about to cry, anger seemed to come off of him in waves.

“Oz saved me,” Oscar admitted. He needed to get all of it on the table now, “I was able to use magic with his guidance to break my fall. He’s been around since. He’s been… trying to convince me that I shouldn’t have to deal with the venom and stuff but I’m not sure how comfortable I am with him using my body right now.”

Jaune’s expression softened and his grip loosened. “I’m just- so glad you’re okay.” Jaune let go of Oscar’s hand and Oscar found himself wrapped in a warm hug, “You did everything you could. All that matters is that you’re alive and you’re safe. I’m going to keep it that way.”

Oscar smiled and leaned into the hug.

“Doctor!” A shrill voice called. A familiar young feminine voice.

Jaune chuckled and let Oscar go. “I have never been happier to hear Ruby yell in my entire life.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live I swear I will finish this fic but another plot point decided to grab me by the throat and tell me that I need to make the fic longer so here I am-

“Shhh!” 

The loud hush was obviously Nora, Oscar had heard her hushing the group enough in the past to recognize it.

“There are other  _ people here _ ,” Nora whispered loudly.

There was a wave of quieted giggles. Oscar could imagine the RWBY hugging Nora or, more likely, the other way around.

Jaune didn’t move from his seat, his hands clasping Oscar’s like he feared that if he were to let go, Oscar would disappear. The usual warmth from Jaune’s semblance made Oscar feel less cold.

There were some shifting and light whispers before the curtain moved again. Ren held the fabric back as team RWBY and Nora filled into the closed-off area. Team RWBY looked worn and a bit battered.

“You’re here,” Jaune said, relief obvious in his voice but he still was yet to let Oscar go.

Ruby smiled wide, “Can’t get rid of us that easily!”

“Penny went to go see her dad and give him the vial we found,” Weiss explained, “How’s Oscar?”

“Not great,” Oscar responded himself, “Almost choked on blood.”

“Oscar,” Jaune hissed in warning.

“I’m just telling the truth,” Oscar huffed.

Yang shook her head, “Squirt’s right, no need to sugar-coat it. Hopefully, that vial has just what you need. Either way, we contact Ironwood first thing tomorrow morning.”

“We might want to do it… yesterday,” Jaune admitted, “Oscar told me… some stuff.”

Oscar tried to sink further into the bed as if it would shield him from the curious and concerned gazes of his friends.

“Can… can I have my  _ cane _ back first?” Oscar rasped with a shaky smile.

Blake reached to her belt and handed Long Memory to Ruby who handed it to Jaune and Jaune held it out to Oscar. With every exchange of the weapon right in front of him, Oscar felt his skin itch. With a swift snatch, Oscar took the sheathed cane from Jaune’s hand. The grip felt cool against his burning skin but didn’t make him feel cold. It fit. It was right where it was meant to be. Oscar let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as he brushed his thumb against the hilt. Feeling the smooth metal and the slight embossing of the sealed paint.

"What's the... stuff?" Ruby asked cautiously, "Is something going on with General Ironwood?"

Oscar shrugged, moving to hold Long Memory in both of his hands. "I don't know what he's doing right now, but it has to do with when I saw him last."

"When?" Blake asked.

"A little after you got in contact with Jaune," Oscar explained, "I ran off to try and... talk some sense into him."

"Which- didn't work," Yang guessed with a flat, annoyed tone.

Oscar let out a breathless laugh, "No, not at all. He..." Oscar clenched his hands around the cane, focusing on the feeling of his bare skin against the grip. "He shot me."

Silence.

"So your Aura," Yang spoke up, "When we were all watching Jaune's scroll- and it went to zero-"

Oscar nodded.

Yang looked ready to scream but quickly bit down on whatever curse she was going to say, Blake, grabbing her hand.

Weiss shook her head in disbelief, "I... I can't believe it. The General?  _ You?" _

"I always thought he liked you," Nora murmured, her pale eyes shaking with rage, "It was obvious that he trusted you more than us and- and he  _ shot you?" _

"He thought he killed Oscar," Jaune explained, putting a careful hand on Oscar's wrist, probably noticing that Oscar was trying not to shake himself, "The room with the relic in it, is at the bottom of Atlas, According to Oscar, it has cliffs."

"The one at Haven did too," Yang explained in a hushed tone, "You-"

"You fell off," Ruby finished, the horror growing in her eyes as she realized where this was going, "You fell off of Atlas and General Ironwood saw it happen."

Oscar nodded again, he took a shaky breath. "He... just watched me fall. The last thing I saw from him were these...  _ dead eyes  _ like he was staring at a dead body."

"How..." Weiss almost whispered, "How did you fall?"

"When my Aura broke," Oscar responded quietly, "He shot me and it  _ shattered _ and I lost my footing and-"

As Oscar's voice began to get louder Jaune tightened his grip ever so slightly.

The metal of the curtains scratched. Ren, stiff and obviously trying to compose himself, walked out and closed the curtains behind him.

"Ruby," Yang said stiffly, "You think we could try to get in contact tonight?"

Blake added, "We'd need a head start on- whatever the hell we're going to say with- with  _ that _ ."

Ruby gripped the corner of her cape. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. I'll ask Doctor Polendina." She glanced back at Oscar, "Do you-" She cut herself off, shook her head, and took a deep breath. "Would you want to be there? To talk to him?"

Oscar considered this. He felt a familiar tingle in his chest. A  _ want _ that was slightly off-center.

"Oz wants to," Oscar answered.

There was a ripple of feelings in the remaining people in the closed-off area. Harsher emotions were noticeably clamped down as soon as they appeared.

_ Would you let me? _ Oz piped up,  _ I thought I was "grounded." _

"Oh yes, you are," Oscar pointedly turned his head when he responded. A tic that he had tried to suppress in the past when talking to Oz, but Oscar gave in to it for the point of context. "You're just much more eloquent in your anger and I think  _ your  _ disapproval would be much more effective."

"I don't know," Jaune spoke up, "I would be pretty scared and ashamed if someone I thought I killed appeared and told me off?"

Oscar was able to form a coy smile, "Why not both?"

"Good point," Ruby said, a small spark of mischief in her eyes, "We'll go ask about making that call and we'll let you know!"

Ruby slipped through the curtains without pulling the rings away, Weiss moving quickly to follow her.

Yang walked up and ruffled her hand through Oscar's hair, "You did your best, squirt. We're all proud of you. Whatever happens,  _ I'll _ at least give Ironwood hell. Even if the rest of you try your little 'forgive and forget' shtick." Yang smirked dangerously, "I'm glad to keep some grudges and be the bad cop to keep you all safe."

"The same for Oz?" Oscar asked.

Yang rolled her eyes, "I can work with someone and still hold a grudge. You're the good one, squirt. I just can't let all of you sell yourselves out just to be 'team players'. Someone has to keep the sketchy ones on their toes." She winked, "But I trust you to keep him honest, so I'll leave 'bad cop' to you on that one."

Oscar smiled back at her, "Thanks."

"Get some rest," She gently pushed his head back a bit, enough for her usual 'tough big sister' bravado.

Blake walked up a second after and smoothed down the hair that Yang messed up, "We're all here for you, okay? Don't go- running off like that. You scared us all to death."

"I already got a talking to for that," Oscar admitted, "I promise to not intentionally disappear on you guys."

"Intentionally?" Nora piped up.

"I do not control Salem’s goons!."

"I swear to the gods-" Nora whispered.

"Thank you, Blake," Oscar interrupted.

Blake smiled and then followed Yang out.

Nora sighed loudly. Very intentionally. "I'll go check on Ren. He tries to not to let these kinds of things affect him but-" Nora's expression lightened, "You know he has a soft spot for you- it was a bit much to handle. Yang's right, get some more rest."

"I'll stay here," Jaune said, readjusting Oscar's pillows again and pulling the blankets back up, "Someone's gotta keep an eye on our disappearing act."

Oscar rolled his eyes but let Jaune coax him back into laying down completely. The quiet mumbles of the clinic had picked up in the commotion but they were moving to settle down again.

Jaune squeezed Oscar's hand once more as Oscar closed his eyes, "We're all going to keep a grudge on Ironwood, not just Yang. You understand that, right?"

"I assumed," Oscar admitted, "Once again, I will be the fourteen-year-old voice of reason."

"No," Jaune responded quickly, "The only thing getting us to talk to him is that you're  _ sick _ and we care more about the  _ current _ almost-death of our farm boy over the  _ previous _ one."

"But really, the reason I got stung in the first place was because I fell into Solitas without Aura," Oscar pointed out.

Jaune squeezed harder, "But  _ Tyrian _ is the one almost-killing you now and  _ Tyrian _ doesn't have the most advanced hospitals in Remnant, does he?"

"That we know of."

"I SWEAR-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started writing "I do not control Salem's goons" I put "I do not control the rate in which lobsters die" instead but I decided against doing that at the last second.


	14. Chapter 14

Oscar dozed while he waited for word on both Ironwood and the possible anti-venom. After at least a couple of minutes, Nora came back with Ren who pointedly sat on the edge of Oscar’s cot right next to Jaune.

Oscar didn’t complain or argue when Ren started fiddling with his hair. It was plain to see that Ren felt guilty. He was always the kind to try to take responsibility upon himself. (A trait that Oscar himself was trying to get under control, as well as Oz) It wasn’t hard to figure out that Ren felt guilty for “letting” Oscar face Ironwood alone. Not with the sad but fond look on Ren’s face as he stroked Oscar’s dark hair, which was starting to get gross and clump from sweat, blood, and dirt. Ren didn’t say a word about it.

It was at that point which Oscar dozed off. It was hard enough to stay awake when something was going on, it was even harder when nothing was going on and you’re being coddled.

Oscar quietly decided that he had far exceeded his coddle quota for the year right about now and now had the right to reject any undue coddling once this was all over.

It was only when Ruby returned at some point later (How long Oscar had been dozing- it was hard to tell. Could have been minutes or hours).

"Dr. Polendia helped us get a line with Ironwood- we just need to call. You still up for it?" She asked quietly as if trying not to rouse Oscar too much if he decided to go back to sleep.

Oscar let out a few dry coughs and tried to sit up. Jaune- who was looking entirely too exhausted- moved to help.

"At the very least- I have a meme to uphold," Oscar rasped. Ruby snorted.

Jaune held Oscar's hand as he swung his legs over the cot and leaned over to stand on solid ground. Immediately, Oscar wobbled and Jaune had to keep him from falling over.

"I can just carry you," Jaune insisted as Oscar gripped his hand and the side of the bed.

Oscar scowled, "I can walk!"

"Can you?" Nora asked sourly, looking at Oscar like she didn't believe him.

Oscar puffed his cheeks and let go of the cot and took a few steps forward before the world bent in front of him.

Jaune grabbed Oscar before he could fall over. "Yeah- no," Jaune frowned.

Oscar let out a slow breath, waiting for his heart- which pounded in his chest and rattled his ears- to calm down. He didn't make a peep as Jaune carried him to the back room.

Pietro had wired up some scrolls and terminals in the corner of the storage room. One of the tables in the back was covered in vials and a small machine the size of a basketball was making a quiet buzzing sound. The rest of Team RWBY had pulled up chairs in front of the setup and turned as Ruby returned with the four others. Yang got up and offered Jaune the chair she sat in. Jaune carefully set Oscar down.

It was cold in the backroom, and Oscar tried not the shiver as everyone grouped up before the hobbled together set-up.

"We all ready?" Ruby asked, her jaw set as she wrung her hands.

There was a ripple of nods and half-hearted affirmative mutters.

The screen flickered to life. Oscar instinctively drew in on himself as the static-y visage of General James Ironwood appeared on the projected screen. He looked haggard, dark circles under his eyes, and sunken features from stress. He looked less put-together than Oscar had known him to be. His arm was no longer in a sling and his shoulder was covered by his clothing again- so Oscar couldn't tell how healed the arm actually was.

Also, he looked  _ extremely  _ irked.

"What?" He practically spat.

Ruby barely held back a flinch.

"Salem has retreated," Ruby said, pulling her voice together to stay steady, "We need to get back on good terms so we can  _ fix _ everything. Mantle is in disrepair and Grimm is still an issue due to the stress."

James's stare was off-center, as his gaze wasn't directly at the camera. But his glare was hard to miss.

"General, we can get back on our plan," Jaune spoke up, walking closer to the center, "We can still unite the world."

"Salem can't be killed," He said sternly, "I don't see how this changes  _ anything _ from 60 hours ago."

"We're not under attack!" Yang said, "We need to start rebuilding, you can't just- stay up in Atlas and pretend this never happened."

James didn't respond for a moment, his expression not faltering. "I'm going to wait for  _ Ozpin." _

Everyone froze at that. Oscar knew that his story had to be fresh in their minds.

"Well he's back, so you can stop with that excuse," Oscar snaped.

Finally, James's eyes flickered. An inch of change in his stone-cold expression. He looked confused.

_ I must be out of frame _ Oscar reasoned, he held out an arm, and Nora grabbed him under his arm and pulled him closer to the center. Oscar flushed but didn't argue as she basically put him in her lap.

James's eyes widened at that.

Oscar opened his mouth- ready to say something really snarky- but broke into another coughing fit.

Ren quickly came forward- handing Oscar some tissues from his dwindling stash. Nora patted his shoulder.

"...How?"

Oscar glanced up from his bloodied tissue. "Magic. Oz didn't want me to die. Unfortunately-" Oscar held up the tissue- red seeping through the thin cotton, "Tyrian didn't agree."

That made James freeze. Oscar could almost see some of that light back in his eyes. Some of the humanity that he had discarded the last time they were face-to-face.

"Oscar needs a doctor. In a  _ real _ hospital," Nora said, the glare was pretty much  _ audible _ .

Oscar felt a nudge on the edge of his consciousness. A suggestion that he had ignored for days now.

Oscar turned his head slightly and lowered his voice. "Ten minutes- tops. You're still grounded."

_ Thank you. _

The buzz of being off control of his body was almost foreign now, the time without Oz around had begun to be measured in months. It was a fuzz, the ache and rattle of his body were now muffled to Oscar.

Oz on the other hand-

Oz shuttered in Oscar's body. Letting out some quick coughs, he tried to straighten up but was  _ noticeably  _ uncomfortable.

"Um, Miss Valkyrie, may I uh- borrow this chair to myself?" Oscar could feel the heat of his cheeks seep through.

Nora shuffled Oz off of her, she was careful but had a less gentle touch that she had used with Oscar.

"James," Oz said as sternly as he could with a rattling chest, dry voice, and the much lighter timbre of Oscar's body.

James looked to barely contain a  _ flinch _ .

"Oz-"

"Save the explanations, James," Oz said curtly, "This-" He waved his hand around, "This is unacceptable. I trusted you,  _ you _ in particular, to keep the people of Remnant safe while I was gone. And- you  _ abandon them?" _

Oz tightened his hands into fists, his chest rattled as he composed himself again. "And I trusted  _ you _ to take care of  _ me _ if it ever came to me appearing on your doorstep when the worst happened. To watch over whatever person came to you  _ confused and unsure _ \- I never meant for you to see any of us like this but- I would have thought you- you wouldn't try to  _ kill _ them!"

Oz tried to muffle more coughs, his chest tightening at the feeling.

Oscar pressed close. The edges of panic welling up in Oz.

"He's a child, James. This isn't even about me-" Oz's breath hitched before coughs ratted his frame again. His hands shook- was it from panic or was it from lack of oxygen- every time he tried to suck in air he felt like he was drowning, he couldn't drown like this again-

_ Oz, you're making it worse, you need to calm down _ , Oscar insisted, the world grew even fuzzier for him.

Oz couldn't respond but took the nudge that Oscar offered. Oscar fell back into his place, Nora and Jaune holding him up, Jaune pressing his gently glowing hands to Oscar's shoulders as Nora held up an already stained tissue just in front of his face. Oscar trembled for a moment, adrenaline still coursing through his body. Oscar leaned forward, pressing his head against Jaune's collarbone as he breathed slowly, blinking the dark spots from his vision.

"Sorry," Oscar rasped breathlessly, "Oz panicked, he doesn't do well with being sick."

Jaune pulled one hand behind Oscar's head, stroking his hair, "It's okay, you good?"

"Not really," Oscar mumbled, "Really lightheaded."

_ I'm sorry _ .

Oscar shook his head, "Not your fault, I'm the dumb one who fought a serial killer with no aura."

_ You didn't have much of a choice in that. _

Oscar chuckled dryly.

"... Oz?"

Jaune turned his head behind his shoulder. "He's fine- but his fits are only getting worse."

There was a long pause. The air felt even colder as Oscar sat there, leaning against Jaune, his chest rattling, head feeling like it was a turn loose from being screwed onto his body.

"I... I will send an airship to your location. Once Oz is... recovered. We can talk."

Nora rolled her eyes.

"Thank you, General," Ruby responded curtly, "We'll take care of  _ Oscar _ until then."

The light in the room dimmed. He was gone.

"Oz really chewed into his ass for the ten seconds he could handle being sick," Yang said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Home Stretch! Home Stretch!
> 
> Had a bit of a block starting the call with James but I forced myself to sit down and do it.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to justify to myself that I could use other POVs in this fic after 20k words in order to finish this chapter.

Pietro told Oscar to lay down again. Oscar didn't argue. His skin felt cold and clammy and his head spun. Nora said he looked pale. Oscar could believe that.

Jaune sat down where he had before, but Oscar swatted away his hands.

"You're exhausted," Oscar said, glaring at Jaune.

Jaune quickly shook his head, "I'm fine, I've got aura to spare."

"How long have you been awake?" Oscar scowled, trying for the sternest look he could give while also laying down.

Jaune glanced away, not meeting Oscar's gaze. "I've slept enough."

Oscar glowered.

Jaune let out a loud groan, standing up, "Fine, fine, I'll get someone else to watch you."

Oscar smirked as Jaune pulled back the curtain and walked away. Feeling accomplished, Oscar let his eyes flutter shut. He hadn't even been awake long but he was already exhausted. His chest ratted every time he breathed now, and every few moments, he had to cough lightly to clear his throat. It tasted and  _ smelled _ like the bitter copper of blood. Oscar tried to ignore it, curling into the pillow under him. He drifted. At some point, Oscar heard the curtains move again and the sound of someone sitting down. It wasn't Jaune, because no one grabbed his hand. His eyes were too heavy to check who it was, and Oscar didn't care at this point as long as Jaune was getting some sleep.

  
  


Nora didn't like the way Oscar sounded when he breathed. She had noticed it when they first found him in that giant Grimm. It wasn't as bad then, and some breaths still sounded clean. Then he would rattle. Nora could remember feeling his chest rattle when she held him as they ran through Mantle. Every three breaths she could feel it as she held him close, close enough to hear his hammering heartbeat and labored breathing. Over the past three days it had increased. The rattling became more often. More regular. Stronger.

Now she sat next to him, waiting, listening to his shallow breathing and rattling chest as he slept.

Sometimes, he shivered and Nora would pull his blankets closer. Sometimes, a bead of sweat would drip down the side of his face.

Oscar always seemed worse when he was asleep. His brow knit together like he was in pain and he wasn't present with his usual dry humor to lighten the mood.

Nora tried to focus on what Jaune said before she came in. That Oscar had pouted at him until Jaune agreed to get some sleep. Sounded just like him. Just like normal, healthy Oscar.

Oscar was already asleep by the time Nora came in to keep an eye on him. His breath rattling in his sleep, his mouth still faintly stained with red.

What if they were too late? What if, once they got to Atlas, they told them that there was nothing they could do?

No, Qrow had been this bad. He was okay one they got to Mistral. And that was Mistral! Soon, General Ironwood was going to send down some airship with medics and they would be straight to a very official Atlas hospital.

Oscar would be fine. Oscar would be fine, he  _ had _ to be.

He seemed so much different than the awkward farmhand that knocked on their door that night, shuffling his feet and wringing his hands. Nora figured his sarcastic tone and coy humor wasn't new, just new to them. Nora could remember when they first heard his sharp tongue and wit. Yang had howled and slammed her hands on the table.

"Oh I knew you weren't a stick in the mud, farm boy!" she had grinned, a wild look in her eyes.

Oscar smiled back at her, looking a bit taken aback, for a moment there he had frozen like he was worried he had overstepped a boundary.

Nora knew that they were finally seeing the real Oscar. The one that was carefully hiding behind Ozpin's overwhelming presence.

The couple of months without Ozpin, Nora had really gotten to know Oscar. He still got nervous, he had a few tics and ducked away from new people, but he had warmed up to them. He reminded Nora a bit of Ren. Sure, Oscar was  _ still _ more talkative than Ren was, but compared to Nora and pretty much all the others, he had the tendency to step back and let the others talk. When he did join in, it was either to sass them or be rather insightful.

His serious moments reminded Nora more of Pyrrha than of Ozpin.

Nora liked that comparison more.

Gentle, nervous, a secret sharp tongue, and would jump to action the moment it was needed.

Oh, Pyrrha would have  _ loved _ him.

But that just scared Nora more. The boys saw it too. Losing another person like this- it would be too much. There's just so much they could take before they shattered.

"Just stay with us," Nora prayed, to what, she wasn't sure. Anything- anyone who would listen, she would take. Nora would take on anything to protect her family, and it frustrated her that there wasn't something she could just  _ hit _ and make everything better. 

So she just sat there. It was the best she could do for him.

Nora could see why Jaune refused to leave Oscar's side. It felt like if she were to leave, something horrible would happen. Nora leaned on the edge of the cot, listening to the rattling sound. It was breathing at least.

It felt like forever. Nora squirmed. Sitting still with nothing to do to  _ help _ was frustrating. It felt like an invisible timer was ticking, and no one knew how long it had left.

Nora jumped when there was a tap on her shoulder, Blake had walked in without a sound.

"Yang and I saw an airship circling nearby. Yang's waving it down," She said quietly, "maybe get some blankets for him, he was shivering in the backroom, it's pretty cold out there without any aura."

Nora nodded, she stood up and carefully moved the blankets over Oscar, he didn't move as she carefully reached under him and tucked them under him and then back around. Nora carefully lifted Oscar up as Ruby and Jaune opened the curtains wide- Jaune smiled at her, not looking nearly rested enough but there was a lightness in his posture. Relief. There was help, finally. Nora gathered Oscar closer, still not moving in her grip, his cheek pressed to her neck, hot against her.

"Come on burrito boy, let's get you better."


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screw it- post the chapter now and be done. We're finishing this monster my dudes!

Oscar felt numb when he woke up. The soreness in his chest and sharp pain from the sting on his back was gone. Oscar could see the dim light behind his eyelids, and it was silent. Every time Oscar had woken up before there was the quiet murmur of conversation. The shift of other people. But it was so quiet that Oscar's ears rang.

Oscar's eyes felt heavy, they seemed to drag themselves down, like sleep was trying to drag him back into oblivion. At least it was warm here. The pillow under his head was much softer than the one before, all Oscar wanted to do was nestle into it and sleep away the numbness. Even so, Oscar tried to pry open his eyes. The crack of light that seeped into his eyes made Oscar recoil. It wasn't even very bright, but it was too much. He let out a slow breath.

_ Just get more sleep _ , Oz's gentle voice soothed,  _ everything will be fine. _

Oscar listened to that, letting the weight dragging him back under.

The darkness of sleep was like warm oblivion, holding him tightly. Oscar didn't dream, the darkness didn't feel intrusive, in fact, it felt safe. It was like being wrapped in a heavy blanket, cozy and comforting.

_ "...one smack, _ it'll be gentle! No breaking skin!"

"No, we  _ have _ to stay on good terms for now!"

"Will you two be  _ quiet _ we're in a  _ hospital." _

The voices reached through the darkness, but they didn't wrench Oscar from the oblivion, it was more like floating out until the voices were recognizable and solid.

Oscar opened his eyes slowly, seeing the dimly lit pale room around him. Ren was dragging Yang and Ruby away by the collar, a familiar expression that meant a scolding was imminent.

He still felt numb, but it wasn't as... thick now. It didn't feel like Oscar's mind was drifting in space where only his face existed. Blearily, he glanced at his sides, where Blake was getting up to either retrieve Yang or try to impede Ren's wrath. Jaune was sitting on a chair to one side, Nora on the chair behind him, arms around his neck in a loose hug, and her chin resting in his thick blonde hair. Weiss sat on the other side, shaking her head at the beginnings of Ren's scolding. Nora's eyes quickly flicked up and met Oscar's, she jumped up from her perch on Jaune's head.

"Oscar!" She exclaimed, running from behind Jaune and almost smothering Oscar in a hug. "Oh I'm so glad you're awake!"

Oscar let her smother him and he smiled to himself, "You're acting like I almost died or something." His voice was still rough, but his throat wasn't sore anymore. Breathing felt easier, there was still some sort of ache in his chest, but it felt like an Ursa that Oscar didn't know was there had stopped sitting on it.

"Not funny!" Ruby yelled from across the room, trying to coral Yang and Ren back over to where Oscar laid on a hospital bed.

Nora finally got off, taking a step back. She was sniffling, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh-  _ Nora," _ Oscar sighed, seeing her crying suddenly made him feel guilty.

Nora smiled at him, "I'm just so happy you're okay."

"You gave us quite the scare, squirt," Yang said, leaning on the railing at the foot of the bed.

Blake stood next to Yang, her small smile dropping to a frown. "Don't do that again."

"I... I don't think I can promise that?" Oscar shrugged, "I try to keep honest."

"At least  _ try _ ," Weiss crossed her arms, "You're going to give Jaune gray hair before he's twenty-five."

Oscar smiled at her sheepishly, "I promise to  _ try." _

"He already promised not to run off on his own," Jaune reported, "You all have to keep him to that."

Oscar puffed his cheeks and stuck his tongue out at him.

"At least we know you're feeling better," Ren sighed, leaning on Jaune's chair, "Not that you didn't try to sass your way out of a poisoning."

"It's-" Oscar started, Nora stuffed a hand over Oscar's mouth.

_ "Envenomed,  _ I know!" Nora hissed.

Oscar rolled his eyes and pushed her hand down, "If I had to deal with Oz correcting me the entire time I was in Whale Jail then you can take it."

Yang snorted. "I knew I liked this kid."

"Smartass," Nora couldn't keep the grin from coming back to her face.

Oscar smiled back. "Can I uh," Oscar cleared his throat, "Get some water? My throat is kinda- torn up."

"I got it," Ren said, walking to the other end of the room, grabbing a plastic cup from a dispenser and filling it up at the sink before coming back and handing it to Oscar. "You got it?"

"I'm  _ good _ ," Oscar insisted, pulling the cup carefully from Ren's hand, "Thank you."

They all settled down again as Oscar slowly sipped the cup of water.

"How did things go with Ironwood?" Oscar asked, "And uh- how long was I out?"

"It's only like two in the afternoon, we got here last night around midnight. just a good fifteen-hour nap," Nora reported.

Ruby tipped her flat hand from side to side, "It's been okay more or less. He hasn't really contacted us yet, but Weiss chatted up some of the nurses and found out that Ironwood's been asking about you."

"Why did you make that sound like I was flirting?" Weiss whispered, swatting at Ruby.

Ruby frowned down at Weiss from where she stood, "Weren't you?"

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"I'm assuming he's going to come and try to talk to Oz soon then," Oscar said, turning the empty cup in his hands.

Jaune rose an eyebrow, "Didn't you say he was... 'grounded'?"

"Oh yeah," Oscar nodded, "I told him in Whale Jail that he was grounded. Well- I told  _ Salem _ that he was grounded, but it was also to Oz. I feel like it's only fair that he doesn't get body rights for his crimes."

_ Crimes? _

"Yes, crimes." Oscar nodded to himself.

A couple of stifled chuckles followed that.

"How long," Ruby choked back another laugh, "How long is he grounded?"

Oscar hummed, "I haven't decided yet."

"Said like a true mom," Jaune smiled.

Nora waved her hand and jumped a couple of times, "Oo oo! I know!"

"We're not in school," Ruby muttered as Oscar waved for Nora to go ahead.

"Three weeks!"

Yang frowned, "That's... pretty lenient."

"A week for each month he was gone," Nora said, "I think that's fair."

Blake shrugged, "She has a point."

"Is that really the reason he's grounded though?" Weiss murmured.

"Two weeks," Oscar said.

They all looked at him, confused as Oscar wrung his hands in his lap, a somber expression on his face.

"A week for each time he stole my body without my permission. That's the reason he's grounded anyway."

There was a lull, they exchanged concerned looks, looking a bit uncomfortable at the thought.

  
  


"I feel like body thievery deserves a month-long punishment for each offense," Yang responded.

Oscar smiled at her, "I'm a forgiving farm boy."

"How benevolent a master," Yang shot him a coy smile.

"What about when Ironwood wants to talk to him? Does that not count?" Ren asked.

"Are we seriously discussing the logistics of grounding a several-thousand-year-old man?" Weiss sputtered.

"Yes!" Ruby giggled, "Well Oscar, o' keeper of criminal spirits?"

"He still has nine minutes let," Oscar reported, "I gave him ten minutes to talk to Ironwood, he only used up one minute. I'll let him carry it over."

_ Should I be concerned by your obvious show of power? _ Oz asked quietly.

"You don't have to worry," Oscar said, closing his eyes, "I might shave off time for good behavior."

_ I fear I have created a monster. _

Everyone was laughing, even without hearing that. 

It was nice to sit with everyone. There was a loosening of tension after their short conversation. Ren and Weiss offered to grab them all food and came back about an hour later with several containers of soup and paper bowls and plastic spoons.

Oscar was given first choice and immediately asked for the chicken noodle soup and didn't wait for the others before he started eating. He didn't realize how  _ hungry _ he was until he smelled the food.

Nora leaned over Oscar's shoulder as he sipped on the soup.

"Are those carrots...  _ purple?"  _ she frowned.

Oscar nodded, sticking the rest of the spoon in his mouth, "Some carrots are purple, Nora."

"Why are they  _ purple?" _ Nora asked as Ren put a bowl of squash soup in her hand.

Oscar shrugged, "Do I look like a carrot scientist?"

"These are things you  _ gotta know _ farm boy! Didn't you go to Farm School?" Yang called from her own perch.

Oscar stuffed another spoonful of soup into his mouth before pointing the spoon at Yang, "Jokes on you! I failed Farm School!"

Weiss frowned, some kind of mushroom soup halfway to her mouth, "Wait, really?"

"No, there is no farm school," Oscar admitted.

"Aren't there like... agriculture schools? Surely there are real carrot scientists who went to school," Jaune asked with his own bowl of mushroom soup sitting precariously on his lap.

  
  


" Agronomy," Blake said, sipping from her bowl of chicken soup, "But those are usually college degrees and such."

Nora gasps, "Ren! We have to save up for Carrot School! Oscar needs an education!"

Ren looked at Oscar and then back to Nora, "I think he has access to all the information he needs."

Oscar gave a few nods of agreement, but Nora put her bowl down and waved her arms, "He doesn't know why carrots are purple! We're failing as parents!"

"Since when did you become my parents?" Oscar almost choked on his soup.

"When you knocked on the door asking for Ruby," Jaune replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

Someone on the other side of him snorted and Oscar shot a glare at Team RWBY who all pointed at a different member.

Everyone laughed at that.

_ knock-knock _

Everyone froze in that second, gazes shooting to the door. Standing in the doorway, standing straight but even from here Oscar could see the wrinkle of nerves on his face, was General Ironwood.

"Excuse me," He said, walking in a few steps, looking stiff. "I heard you were awake."

Oscar held his bowl stiffly, a glare forming on his face. "Yes. I am."

"Oz-" He started, stepping forward.

"What- you don't have  _ anything _ to say to  _ me?"  _ Oscar snapped and Ironwood froze. "You can't just pretend like you didn't try to kill me. Hell, you would have succeeded in that if Oz didn't save me."

Ironwood swallowed, eyes locked with Oscar's intense gaze.

"Did you come to apologize now that you got your ass chewed out by Oz? Or did you sincerely think over how you shot a fourteen-year-old off a cliff and realize that it wasn't the right thing to do?" Oscar almost growled.

At that, Ironwood finally looked away.

"Whatever you say, I'll let it go- for Remnant. But just know. I won't forget it. Ever."

There was a beat and slowly, Ironwood looked back up, barely meeting Oscar's eyes.

"I'm sorry," it was quiet, tense.

Oscar could feel the eyes of his friends on him. Waiting for his response. Waiting. It was a silence that was thick, and Oscar could feel his heart loudly beating in his chest.

"Okay," Oscar said, "I'll listen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and to everyone who stuck around weather that be since the very beginning or just since the last chapter.
> 
> I guess I am two for two on the leaving things open for you to form your own opinions on how much forgiveness if any that James gets after shooting Oscar.
> 
> Thank you for all your comments, kudos, bookmarks... 25k is a pretty good total I think.


End file.
